Patient Online Services - Level of Access Increasing in the near future.
Patient Online Services – Prospective Record Access - Information for Patients with Existing Accounts
The level of access on your Patient Online Services Account will automatically increase, unless your GP has identified that this may be detrimental to your health and wellbeing and withheld the automatic update until they have had time to review your notes and discuss this with you.
Currently there are two levels of access to your records – the choice of level of access will have been made by you. These levels of access are outlined below.
Summary Access – This enables patients to order their repeat medication, book appointments and view any recorded allergies on your GP record.
Detailed Coded Record Access (DCRA) – In addition to the access granted with Summary Access, patients with DCRA can view their test results from the date that DCRA is activated for the individual patient, incoming and outgoing documents from 21.09.2016, any immunisation on their record and the main purpose/diagnosis of any consultations that have occurred from 21.09.2016 – it must be noted that it is only the coded purpose/diagnosis that is visible, not all the free text information to this consultation that the clinician will have added to the record.
What is Prospective Record Access and what will that mean for patients in relation to the level of access they already have?
Prospective Record Access will give patients access to their complete GP Medical Record from 1st November 2022 onwards, this will include any consultations that are carried out, detailing everything the clinician records as free text, any medication issued, any referral letters sent, any test results received, any incoming letters, etc., unless the entry has been hidden from online visibility by the clinician or administrator.
For many patients this will prove a valuable tool for helping to manage their healthcare. However, we do recognise that this isn’t for everyone and if you have concerns about having this level of access to your notes, please contact us and let us know so that we can withhold this level of access from automatically being applied to your online services account. There may be a number of reasons why you don’t want this level of access and we would like our patients to have the opportunity to consider this before this service goes live.
You may be happy to have that level of access from a personal point of view, but please also consider whether you have given access to your account to other people, maybe just so that they can order your medication or book appointments for you. Please be aware that unless you tell us otherwise anyone with access to your account will, from 1st November onwards will be able to view all of your consultations, medication, test results, incoming and outgoing letters etc. Please note that this is not retrospective, so you will not be able to see any records that have been added prior to 1st November 2022. Please see your options below…
- If you would like this level of access for yourself but not want other people who currently have access to your account to see this information, please consider changing your password before 1st November 2022, please discuss this with those who have access to your account, so that they are aware and don’t try to access your account and have problems with your password. If you chose this option, it will be your responsibility to make these changes and keep your password safe and secure.
- Keep things as they are currently but consider that if you have a consultation in future that you would not want shared with those who have access to your account, ask the clinician you are seeing, at the time of the appointment, to ‘hide the consultation from online visibility’. This means that everything else that you are happy for others to see will be visible but specific consultations, that may be more personal, can be hidden on a case by case basis. If you choose this option, it will be your responsibility to mention to any clinician that you see that you would like the consultation hidden from online visibility, otherwise the consultation will appear in your online services account.
- Opt not to have this level of access at all, either for yourself or others who may have access to your account. It will be your responsibility to let us know that you would not like this level of access. How to let us know – if you have received a text message from the Practice about opting out from Prospective Record Access, please reply to the message before 1st November 2022. If you have not received a text message or you are reading this information after 1st November 2022, please use the contact form to let us know that you would like to opt out. Please note that it may not be possible for the practice to process all requests to opt out before 1st November, depending on the number of requests received, but we will process them as soon as possible.
What is Patient Online?
Patient Online will help you to take greater control of your health and wellbeing by increasing online access to services. Evidence shows that patients who are informed and involved in their own care have better health outcomes and are less likely to be admitted to hospital.
Patient Online services will give you the option to:
- Make appointments online
- Order repeat prescriptions online
- View your medical record online. Standard registration, known as Summary Access, currently consists only of repeat prescriptions, allergies and adverse reactions. From 1st November 2022 this will increase to include everything added to your notes from 1st November onwards.
You will be able to complete these actions using a computer, tablet or smartphone rather than having to phone or visit your practice.
What are the benefits of online services?
Online services will allow you to book and cancel appointments or request repeat prescriptions at a time that is convenient to you – day or night. It can also mean not having to travel to the surgery and can free up phone lines for people without access to a computer.
Why are we introducing Patient Online?
The NHS has consulted with individual patients and patient groups over the last four years. Many patients have said that they want to be more involved in their own care and wish to be involved in deciding on the best way they are treated and cared for. Patient Online is part of making this happen. Online services are an additional way of accessing services for those patients who want it.
How can I get access to Patient Online?
You can now register for online services without attending the surgery by downloading the NHS app from the App Store. You will be able to upload your ID here and follow the on-screen instructions.
If you are unable to register via the NHS app, then please complete a registration form and bring this to the surgery with two forms of identification for verification. The forms of identification that are acceptable are two of the following: passport, photo driving licence and bank statement. The acceptable ID has been stipulated by the RCGP & NHS England and we have to adhere to their rules on this and can only accept the ID stated.
Please read and consider the following information leaflets before signing your registration form Patient Online Information Leaflet and It's Your Choice Leaflet. After a member of our staff has verified your ID and accepted your registration form at the Surgery, we will need 14 days to process your registration. After 14 days you should receive an automatically generated email to which your registration token will be attached. The email address you provide must not be an email address that is shared with a partner, we need to have one email address per person registering for the Online Services.
If you would also like access to your past medical records, please complete this registration form and read through the following information leaflets Patient Online Information Leaflet and It's Your Choice Leaflet, this requires authorisation from your GP and may take some time to process.
How can I be certain that no one else can get access to information from my GP record?
Only you will be given access to your record.
When you sign up to Patient Online you will use a secure log-in name and a password. These details are unique to you and along with your personal information will not be shared with anybody unless you choose to let them see it. This is not different to how you would access other online services, for example banking.
You will need an email address to register for Online Services and this email address must not be a shared email address, it must be unique for yourself. The reason for this is that confidential emails regarding appointments/booking reminders will be sent to this email address. If you do not currently have an email address, you can easily set up a free email account to be used for the purpose of using Online Services.
Where is my information stored?
Patient information is stored within the IT system that the surgery uses and within the practice paper records.
How will you avoid patients being forced or misled into providing access to their information?
GP’s will look at each request for access to a record and do everything they can to make sure they are genuine and not being made under pressure. GP’s are able to refuse or withdraw access to a record if they have concerns.
If I don’t have a computer, tablet or smartphone what will it mean for me?
Online services are an extra option for those who wish to use them and will not replace other ways of contacting the practice, such as by phone or in person. By freeing up phone lines and reducing the need for people to visit in person, it is hoped that patients who don’t have a computer will find it easier to contact the practice.
Once registered how do I access these services?
When you have received your registration details from the Practice you can access these services via https://app.patientaccess.com. If you are having trouble working your way through the registration process, please click on the following link for a Guide to Registering for Online Services.