How much do doctors receptionists get to see of our private issues

[Pinkday]

Two issues,firstly I just tried to book an appointment and the male receptionist wanted to know why I wanted the appointment..so I said gynecological reasons .
And he wanted to know exactly what that reason was .
Surely me just saying gynecological was enough ???
But he said the doctor needs to know in advance what I'm going for .
So I've written it in a letter to pop through the surgery door ,so the doctor knows why I'm going in advance....
But is my doctor going to open the letter with her name on ??
Or will one of the receptionists open and read the letter , despite it saying my doctors name on..in which case I won't pop the letter through
Unfortunately a sport I do regularly,one of the receptionists also does ,and I don't particularly like her ..so not sure I want her knowing my personal business

ANYBODY who has access to patient records has the same confidentiality requirements.

Yes, they have the same requirements but they don’t always understand them or take them as seriously as the fully qualified medical staff. I think that was the poster’s point.

Yes, as part of their job, but they’re not regulated the same way medical professionals are, are they? So they’re different and people are aware of that. That’s not to say there are not valid reasons for them to ask, because that triaging is designed to smooth the system, but you can’t be surprised that some people feel anxious about talking to unqualified and unregulated people about sensitive topics.

A friend of mine used to be a GP receptionist. I once heard her openly laughing about someone’s piles. This was in her own home. Dh and I weren’t local so wouldn’t have had a clue who the person was, but her dh and sons certainly would have. TBH I was pretty appalled, and did say something, but she just laughed it off.

Ex Practice Manager here .... in addition to the comments above regarding disclose of information to aid triage, staff being bound by GDPR and the 'turnover' of patients meaning that there's little opportunity to 'nosey', I'd like to add that a responsible and well run surgery should require all staff to advise the Practice Manager / Deputy Manager as soon as they become aware that someone they know is a patient there - be it a relative, friend, neighbour or acquaintance. The PM is then able to block access to those records for the staff member concerned, ensuring that information can't be seen, whether that's in the normal course of their duties, or, a deliberate decision to glean information the staff member had no legitimate reason to seek out.

The latter would be, of course, a disciplinary issue and should anyone fear their confidentiality has been breached in this way it should be flagged to the PM so a full investigation can take place. The clinical system can be searched to find out who's looked at a particular record - this can't be done without leaving a footprint.

Similarly, as a patient, you are also welcome to ask that your record is hidden from staff members you know.

I do understand that disclosing some symptoms to a staff member of the opposite sex - or either sex for that matter - can be uncomfortable. I also appreciate that doing this within earshot of other patients can be embarrassing. Again, a good surgery should provide work rounds for this ... asking if it's possible to speak to a receptionist in a more private area for example, or writing down your symptoms.

Of course, some people simply don't want to provide any information at all. This is their perogative but as demand for appointments outstrips availability and therefore clinical triage is really the only safe and fair way to assess who warrants an urgent appointment as opposed to a routine one, those patients would automatically be triaged as routine because the clinician has no evidence to support them being seen urgently

I agree with you. but we are talking about the op who is a woman

I can echo what others have said. I spent many years managing general practices. Reception staff see most things that come in. To be honest it doesn’t really go in; once you’ve looked at what it is and dealt with it, it’s gone and forgotten. They see so many names during the course of the day they can’t possibly remember every detail.

Everything you say makes sense and I’m sure a well run practice does all of it. I get the triage system and always think myself who is the right person for my problem. But sometimes I don’t know if something is urgent and I’m always curious how the receptionist decides - is there a flowchart?

I think that surgeries tend to want the details of "how we do it" kept a bit confidential. Some people would use the information to trick staff into giving them priority.!

Yes, we do actually have flowcharts for quite a few ailments! At my surgery we’re also given training on ‘red flag’ symptoms for different issues, i.e. loss of bladder/bowel control with back pain, symptoms of sepsis, stroke, cardiac issues etc - loads of different things. Other than that, we generally go by the patient as to urgency, do they think it’s urgent for today, this week, routine etc.

I definitely get people saying they don’t want to tell a receptionist the issue - but honestly, we’re not trying to be difficult! You would not believe the things people want to book a GP appointment for, I have had people literally think they are experiencing a heart attack/having a stroke but just want the GP to check them over rather than go to A&E - can you imagine if I didn’t ask them the problem and just booked an appointment for a few hours time? Likewise, people wanting an appointment for the GP to sign a form which can just be popped in their tray to do in admin time.

Sounds as if you have saved some lives by doing your job well. That's wonderful

I really couldn’t get stressed about this it’s their job to support the doctors they need to know

That makes sense, must be very hard otherwise. I think mine also goes by what the patient says. If I’ve needed to be seen urgently I always say ‘I think I need to be seen today’ and they’ve never said ‘actually you don’t’.

I can though imagine the crazy things people try to book for - serious and the opposite end of the spectrum. Nowt so queer as folk!