To think the GP should be able to accept email?

[lisad123]

I need a letter from GP about both DDs autism and other stuff for our holiday to disneyland. We go next week.
The GP will write me a letter at £15 charge and need me to write down what I want them to say .
This week is hard with both girls off and no car and surgery isn't walk able from here.
I called and asked if I could just email it over. Got really snotty woman who said they don't it via email and I have to physically bring the letter in. And then physically go and collect it again.
So am I being unreasonable to think they should consider taking emails, as most people who might need extra letters are normally the sort who might find it harder to get to office?

GPs are not employed by the NHS. We are contracted as small businesses to provide NHS services free at the point of delivery, to NHS patients. If we do private work (like private letters, HGV medical examination etc), not covered by the NHS contract, then we charge for them. We have guidance from the BMA about 'reasonable charges' for these things.

Most GPs are online and have professional email addresses. Because peoples personal email addresses are rarely secure, it would be indefensible to carry out correspondence in this way and risk patients' confidential information being accessed by someone else. How do I know, as a GP, when I receive an email from a 'patient', that they are who they say they are? We are frequently contacted by relatives, employers etc asking for confidential information about our patients - email would add to this problem. If any doctors, private or NHS, choose to ignore this and take risks with patient information, then they are laying themselves open to justified complaints and litigation.

That's the difference, ilove, the doctor chose to give you his address. Our cons did as well, and her pager number. But this one did not.

I have to admit I snorted out loud at the idea that email can't be made secure.

I have secure messaging available with my bank - it's not a huge challenge to think that maybe the same systems could enable healthcare to come into the modern era in that regard too.

IWantAnotherBaby it doesn't need to involve normal email address communication. Perhaps patients could arrange (in person) for a secure password with the surgery? then they log in with their name, DOB, and a couple of random characters from their pre-arranged password (say, valid for 2 years after)... hey presto, on the surgery website, you have a secure message system available for those who want it and who the surgery agrees to authorise it with.

i don't work in IT, and i'm basing all of this on my bank secure messaging service, so i'm guessing there are lots more complicated things in this that I don't know about...

but it doesn't seem an impossible idea anyway.