ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS
The Data Protection Act 1998, which came into force on 1st March 2000, allows you to find out what information about you is held on computer and in certain manual records. This is known as “right of subject access”. It applies to your health records. If you want to see them you should make a written request to the NHS organisations where you are being, or have been, treated. You are entitled to receive a copy. In certain circumstances your right to see some details in your health records may be limited in your own interest or for other reasons. Our Subject Access Request Forms are available from our reception desks and here
HOW WE KEEP YOUR RECORDS CONFIDENTIAL
Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential.
You may be receiving care from other organisations as well as the NHS (like Social Services).We may need to share some information about you so we can all work together for your benefit. We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to third parties without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as when the health or safety of others is at risk or where the law requires information to be passed on.
Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential.
We are required by law to report certain information to the appropriate authorities. This is only provided after formal permission has been given by a qualified health professional. Occasions when we must pass on information include:
- notification of new births
- where we encounter infectious diseases which may endanger the safety of others, such as meningitis or measles (but not
- HIV/AIDS)
- where a formal court order has been issued
Our guiding principle is that we are holding your records in strict confidence
SUMMARY CARE RECORD
SCRs provide healthcare staff treating patients in an emergency or out-of-hours with faster access to key clinical information such as significant illnesses, regular medication and allergies as soon as you present for further care.
Patients are able to opt out of having a “Summary Care Record”. If you wish to do so, please sign and return the form, available from our reception desks or on our website. Once a care record has been created it cannot be destroyed but it can be flagged so that it cannot be accessed by other health professionals.
For further information please visit:
https://digital.nhs.uk/services/summary-care-records-scr/summary-care-records-scr-information-for-patients
HOW THE NHS USES YOUR INFORMATION.
Whenever you use a health or care service, such as attending Accident & Emergency or using Community Care services, important information about you is collected in a patient record for that service. Collecting this information helps to ensure you get the best possible care and treatment.
The information collected about you when you use these services can also be used and provided to other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care, for instance to help with:
- improving the quality and standards of care provided
- research into the development of new treatments
- preventing illness and diseases
- monitoring safety
- planning services
This may only take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information. All these uses help to provide better health and care for you, your family and future generations. Confidential patient information about your health and care is only used like this where allowed by law.
Most of the time, anonymised data is used for research and planning so that you cannot be identified in which case your confidential patient information isn’t needed.
Further information about how the Practice shares your information can be found in our Privacy notices, available from our reception desks and our website.
OPTING OUT OF DATA SHARING
If you do not want NHS Digital to share your confidential patient information (that they collect from across the health care services) for the purposes of research and planning you can opt out
The surgery is not currently able to apply your national data opt-out choice. To find out more or to register your choice to opt out, please visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters. On this web page you will:
- See what is meant by confidential patient information
- Find examples of when confidential patient information is used for individual care and examples of when it is used for purposes beyond individual care
- Find out more about the benefits of sharing data
- Understand more about who uses the data
- Find out how your data is protected
- Be able to access the system to view, set or change your opt-out setting
- Find the contact telephone number if you want to know any more or to set/change your opt-out by phone
- See the situations where the opt-out will not apply
You can also find out more about how patient information is used at: https://www.hra.nhs.uk/information-about-patients/ (which covers health and care research); and https://understandingpatientdata.org.uk/what-you-need-know (which covers how and why patient information is used, the safeguards and how decisions are made)
You can also opt out of your confidential patient information collected and held by us, Lisson Grove and Woolwell Medical Centre in your GP medical record, to be used for purposes other than your direct medical care. This “dissent from secondary use of general practitioner patient identifiable data “, also termed a Type 1 opt out is recorded by us, the surgery. Please contact us if you wish to apply a type 1 opt out to your record or to check whether a type 1 opt out is already recorded in your record.
Type 1 objections will continue to be upheld until at least March 2020. Before a decision is taken to revoke them, the Department of Health and Social Care will consult with the National data Guardian on their removal.
You can change your mind about your choices at any time.
Data being used or shared for purposes beyond individual care does not include your data being shared with insurance companies or used for marketing purposes and data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement.