GP Self Check In

[JurassicBark]

Just used it for the first time at my new surgery - old surgery you were given the entire list of options for day, month and year of birth so you had to get them right to be shown your appointment time and check in. Also it was just first name initial and then surname AFTER you had put in your day, month and year from the full list.

New surgery asks you to select day and month only and then gives you a list of several different years. I misclicliked today and saw a full name, postcode and already had entered their full date of birth.

Do you think that’s quite a big potential to get a lot of personal details belonging to someone else?

Get a lot of personal details? You'd have to stand there trying any number of combinations, then stand and take pictures on your phone, to do what with it? I'm sure it's in a fairly open spot (ours in right across from reception, so I'm sure after a bout a minute someone would notice anyway.

It's pretty amazing you managed to get someone elses details up by fluke I would have thought.

I always wondered about that!

The odds of two people even in a small group having the same birth date is quite high, though I suppose year contradicts that. Mine you don't get a postcode though - full name and doctor you're seeing.

Never thought about that but I don't like touching the screen that has been touched by countless sick people throughout the day. Seems like a really daft idea in a place visited by the sick!

That could be a GDPR violation actually..

When I said a lot of personal details, I meant a lot of personal details about one individual.

I wouldn't want, say my dickhead and very violent ex partner, knowing my postcode for instance (he already knows my name and date and birth). It's just freaked me out a little that I could access someone else's information with relative ease, and accidentally.

There were around 12 different "year" options for the day and month of birth I put in - I don't know if some of these are dummies though or if they are all real people as obviously I only clicked on one.

Mine just brings up an appointment time and name of doctor based on information you put in (no patient name).

That's not ideal. It might be worth mentioning to reception? And possibly even asking to have your postcode removed from the self check-in system based on your personal circumstances?

Meh, our hospital has huge screens with lists of patients and what room theye are in

Mr Smith - Clinic rm 2
Master Bates - Clinic rm 6

I can’t get worked up about anyone knowing my address. You can look at the electoral roll and find anyone’s address.

I wouldn’t touch those screens if you paid me as a starter and I work in the NHS.

Also off-topic but I agree with Snugglysnerd- so many infections are spread from hand-to-mouth (e.g. norovirus, flu, rotavirus, c. diff) that I don't even understand why they have self check-ins at GP surgeries.

Thats a violation of data protection.

That’s really odd and possibly a computer error.

It only has the details of people booked into that particular session at the clinic programmed in so you can’t just put in any patients DOB to get their details. If two people at the same clinic have the same details it’s supposed to keep on asking until it has reached a detail they don’t share. So if two people at the clinic are born on 3rd March 1968 it should then move to surname, if they’re both called Smith it should move to first name and then after that to first name.

Then after that if details are still shared it locks you out and tells you to go to the counter. So if you have twins who share the first initial with appointments on the same day you can’t use it, it won’t book them in.

But it should never, ever show you the details of somebody else just because you share the same details. People sharing details should lock it.

You need to speak to them as it must be a programme error.

Our doctors has a similar system.

Click month born and then year - initial then comes up if more than one person with same birthday on same day comes up.

No point does postcode or any other info come up on screen.

Notice does say if mistake made just let reception know and they can reset the last inputted screen.

Our screens are then also sprayed with antibacterial mist which is designed for reception rooms and a hand gel dispenser is beside it for us.

Never had an issue with it - today's money has more drugs, germs and infectious diseases on it than a screen.

I wouldn't want, say my dickhead and very violent ex partner, knowing my postcode for instance

This. If he found out you were going to the doctor's via social media, gossip, or whatever, he could easily go along and get your details. It's not on.

Gosh, that doesn't sound right at all.

"New surgery asks you to select day and month only and then gives you a list of several different years. I misclicliked today and saw a full name, postcode and already had entered their full date of birth."

Ours does this, but when you click on the year, you just get your full name up. No address or anything like that.

Ours has the second option and you are right, it is worrying. I’d never thought that much about it till now though.

My first thought when I used it last week was what a nice way to spread germs between sock people.

I'm a bit suspect about those screens. The one at work, you put the day and month of birthday then inital of last name. But still what if people had the same date of birth, regardless of the year and the same inital for the last name, you'd be seeing names that arent your own.

sock people - Are they those the ones responsible for my constantly stolen when in the washing machine socks?

Ok, I am going to go in and speak to them in case it was a glitch - or raise it as a concern if not.

We have the hand gel next to it too.

Thank god my doctors don’t have a list of names that comes up etc. You just press day, month, year you’re born and initial of last name. And you’re then checked in. Nothing personal is shown. The only thing my backwards GP surgery does right

You should definitely report it as its a breach of old data privacy never mind the new laws.

Mine works as pp upthread described - if there is a match on your birthday you are asked for more details. That said, its a sodding great screen in full view of the waiting room which is a privacy issue in itself.

Ours has restricted options and as explained above will only correlate with people who are actually booked in for that day. It won’t recognise data input from a patient registered who doesn’t have an appointment booked.

The screens are also cleaned regularly, and has hand gel next to it.

I work in primary care and would say that approx 80-90% of people booking in aren’t sick.

You’re more likely to catch something from your child, money, handles or a toilet flush than from a touch screen...

Ha. My new GP has learnt that pinging my name on the giant TV screen is a total waste of time because I am always overly distracted by drawing whilst waiting...

I work in primary care and would say that approx 80-90% of people booking in aren’t sick

Wow. Aren't sick, or aren't infectious?