In principle it is a good idea I suppose. Whilst many people have a good understanding and recall of their medical history and existing ailments, an equally large number haven't a clue, and with every thing being computerised these days, if confronted with a sick person, on a home visit for example, one can really be working in the dark.
(However, a computerised record would be no help in that situation anyway).
The number of times I have had conversations along the lines of:
Are you on any medication?
Oh yes, lots of pills.
Do you know what they are called?
No
Do you know why you are taking them?
No
Have you had any operations or illnesses?
Oh yes I was in hospital for an operation last year.
Do you know what you had done?
No, but it was on my tummy......
ATM every hospital and GP practice has a different system - not just for patient records, but for lab results, correspondance, appointments etc. None of these systems interface or talk to each other.
A single system used by everyone would help there.
The biggest worry, in my mind, is the fact that every computer system commissioned by government has been insecure and open to hacking and abuse. This, I feel, is where the problem lies.
So - in summary:
A centralised summarised record would be useful, but not secure or confidential, and only useful to HCP if one happened to have a computer handy, and if one was able to recall all the passwords necessary to access the information.
Don't know if that is any help.......