Patient Access Online

[HairyLittleCarrot]

My GP surgery gave very basic online access a while ago (contact details, repeat prescriptions, appointment booking).

I asked them last week if I could have access to my full medical record online yet, and I needed to complete another form and provide two pieces of ID despite obviously having cleared security and completed a form long ago. Anyway, the access has now been increased very slightly to include the Summary Care information (medications, allergies, immunisations).
All of which should have been available back in 2015, but never mind.

But still no access to the detailed coded information which is the bare minimum that GPs are contracted to provide by the end of March 2016.
No test results, diagnoses, consultation codes etc. My mother has been given this access at her surgery and I'm aware of other people whose practises are providing this information already.

How are other people getting on - do you have access to your full or detailed medical record yet online? I don't think my practise is going to meet their obligations without a push.
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/po-offering-patient-access-detailed-online-records.pdf

Well it's only the end of January so they have a few weeks. The GPs I have spoken to say it's an awful lot of work to get it sorted and whilst some GPs may be more ahead than others, some GPs are dealing with patients which is strangely what we were trained to do. I'm in scotland so doesn't affect us.

I've just read the guidance. It's an awful lot of work. A lot of GPs will struggle with this and they'll get financially penalised for not doing so.

I think the requirements have been around for a long time though, this isn't a recent contractual agreement.

Is it the GPs themselves who have to do the work? I assumed their involvement was minimal as it is an IT initiative and Patient Access is a contractor, isn't it?

I have a great deal of sympathy with doctors about many unrealistic pressures. This, however, is something that when implemented will reduce some workload of calls and appointments to discuss test results, and puts information into the hands of the patients. I suspect some GPs are reluctant to give patients access to their records for less genuine reasons.

What are the patient medical record requirements in Scotland, musicaltheatremum?

No access for patients yet in Scotland. I think the worry in England is 3rd party information. It's the GPs who have ultimate responsibility so I think they will want to go for the minimum access.

The GPs will be heavily involved. They will have to check then data is appropriate. Also ways of coding vary. I think it will cause more work as patients won't all understand their results or results that we accept as not being perfectly within a normal range will cause queries. (There are some things that are slightly abnormal that don't really matter because they are borderline) medicine is not an exact science (that's why we don't get it right all the time).

I think people will still want to discuss test results. We get staff to phone some results out that need reviewing and still get more phonecalls.

I also think in some areas it may be that the IT people haven't got to your practice yet as no doubt there will be a lot of setting up to do. And IT in the NHS is horrendous and very badly designed.