Access to Medical Records
We keep information about you for your future care and treatment. We only ever use or pass on information about you if people have a genuine need for it. Whenever we can, we remove details, which identify you.
The sharing of some types of very sensitive personal information is strictly controlled by law. However, sometimes the law requires us to pass on information, for example to notify a birth or an infectious disease. Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential. The Practice also operates a “Teenage Friendly” Policy.
You have a right to see your medical records. To do this you will need to make a written request. Please ask a receptionist for details or contact the Practice Manager.
Summary Care Record (SCR) 
Your Medical Records - Your Decision
What is happening?
A new NHS computer system is coming to this area soon, called the Summary Care Record (SCR). The Summary Care Record is meant to help emergency doctors and nurses help you when you contact them when the surgery is closed. Initially, it will contain just your medications and allergies. However, later on as the computer system (known as the "NHS Spine") develops, many other people who work in the NHS will be able to access it and much more: eg information from hospitals, blood tests, x-rays and specialists' letters.
The information will be sent from practices such as ours and held on NHS databases. As with all new systems there are pros and cons; when you speak to an emergency doctor you might overlook something that is important and if they have access to your medical record it might avoid mistakes or problems. On the other hand, there is not much evidence that these sorts of systems dramatically improve care. Having all your personal medical information in one place increases the risk of other people accessing it without permission (known as "hacking") or it getting lost.
The purpose of this factsheet is not about whether you should have your data on the Summary Care Record or not. It is about
your right to control what's happening to your care records . Connecting for Health, the government agency responsible for the Summary Care Record have agreed with doctors' leaders that patients registering with this practice should have absolute control over whether or not their records are available on the Summary Care Record. However, for patients already registered with the practice it is assumed you want a Summary Care Record unless you actively opt out. This practice believes everyone should have the same control. The British Medical Association also believes patient medical records should not be uploaded without explicit patient/carer consent. What are my options?
1
) I do want to have a Summary Care Record, I am happy for my records to be sent to it 2)
I do not want a Summary Care Record, I am not happy for my records to be sent to it 3)
I don't know whether I want a Summary Care Record, I will decide later What happens next? If you choose option 1) we will set our system to create a SCR for you
If you choose option 2) we will set our system to not create a SCR for you
(you will be able to have one created at a later date if you wish)
If you choose option 3) we will also set our system to not create a SCR for you. You will be able to have one created at a later date
These three options give you complete control over what happens to your records. You can change a previous decision but it is important to remember that if you have a Summary Care Record and it has ever been viewed, then thereafter, whilst you can stop any further information being added to it, you will not be able to have the previous data deleted.
Where can I get more information?
Information from Connecting for Health, the government agency that is responsible for the Summary Care Record, is being posted to you by your local Primary Care Trust during the next few weeks.
Additional information, including an Opt Out form, can be found at:
www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk/summary ; www.tiny.cc/optout383 Alternative views from people who have concerns about centrally-managed computer systems can be found at:
http://www.thebigoptout.com