Missing Nhs trust medical records.

[Hiney]

I happen to think that your medical records are private. For you and your G/P only. What if you were a woman and had an abortion,a man hiv positive. That information is private,and should stay in the surgery and those that need to know.

Presumeably 'those that need to know' would include the medical staff who had to attend to you if you crashed your car 250 mjiles away from where you live.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

From what i have been told by my own G/P. There will be 3 levels of access ? No data to go on database. Full medical record to be uploaded. The third appears to some kind of restricted access/limited records upload. I have no quams about frontline staff having important information. However some clerk,with no cares in the world having access to medical records is a genuine concern of mine. AND NO i have nothing to hide.

 

[Cian]

I work in healthcare IT, believe me, you want your records computerised. From the very basic level of them being able to track what you've been prescribed if you're admitted to hospital dying of some strange drug reaction all the way to your GP being able to get results back from lab tests in one day, not 2 days + postal lag.

I'd recommend not getting them stored on any products made by my employer mind

 

[edna krabappel]

From what i have been told by my own G/P. There will be 3 levels of access ? No data to go on database. Full medical record to be uploaded. The third appears to some kind of restricted access/limited records upload. I have no quams about frontline staff having important information. However some clerk,with no cares in the world having access to medical records is a genuine concern of mine. AND NO i have nothing to hide.

I'd like to think most medical clerks have better stuff to do than plough through patients' records to see which person they've never met has previously suffered from a condition they've never heard of and been treated with a drug they can't even read let alone spell.

You'll never stop the world from gossiping, will you (presumably NSC would be redundant if you could), so who cares what some yackety old doctor's receptionist says??

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

From what i have been told by my own G/P. There will be 3 levels of access ? No data to go on database. Full medical record to be uploaded. The third appears to some kind of restricted access/limited records upload. I have no quams about frontline staff having important information. However some clerk,with no cares in the world having access to medical records is a genuine concern of mine. AND NO i have nothing to hide.

So when you have an outpatient's appointment at the local hospital, you want the nurses to type up your notes, send them on to relevant people, and follow the letters up?

When you phone the GP, you want the nurses to handle your case, book your appointment, find your files, put new pages in for the doctors, keep your old and new records up to date

If you get admitted into hospital, you want the nurses to inform your GP, social services, physios, community nurses, modern matrons etc etc etc. You want the nurses to file all your medical notes, organise your x-rays / ct scans, settle your follow ups, admit you and organise your transport home

When you die, you want the doctors to phone up the coroner, the births and death centers, your GP, AND your family

I'm afraid without medical receptionists nurses workload would go up enourmously. It just would not be possible. What would be needed is a change in confidentiality legislation, NOT to block them all together.

 

[Eggmundo]

NHS is brilliant but administratively incompetent. It's a jumble of protocol that just causes confusion.

 

[Eggmundo]

And they lost my x-rays.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

NHS is brilliant but administratively incompetent. It's a jumble of protocol that just causes confusion.

So what's needed? Simpler administration? Or administration with protocols to protect the confidentiality that seems important to some people?

 

[Leekbrookgull]

L/B,a couple of points. I have honestly nothing to hide,however patient confidentiality is important to me. I do trust frontline health care staff,however (source todays D/mail) At Norfolk and Norwich university hospitals trust,a member of staff is being disicplined after summary sheets from wards were found in a household wheelie bin. The papers contained names,numbers and information about patients conditions. This kind of information is private,and yet can't be kept secure. Why ?

 

[Cian]

Because anything which can be seen by human eyes, anywhere, is inherently insecure. Your paper records being sent by post are far less secure than encrypted digital transmissions being sent to the same person, but they are obviously still not secure - nothing is.

 

[Kylies Stunt Arse]

It is all down to the persons who have the acess to the records, you either trust their discretion or not. When I had my pub in Midhurst one of the biggest gossips in the world was a medical receptionist and many things were common knowledge, she was obviously in the wrong job.

I think that the records should be on a disc readily available to the medical proffesion anywhere but the likes of receptionists should sign a declaration of secrecy, like Official Secrets, with heavy penalties for any misuse. Even to the extent of making it, if it isnt already. a criminal offence to divulge confidential medical records.

I don't know for certain but I believe that anyone that works within a doctors surgery or hospital is made to sign the Data Protection Act, or Official Secrets, before they can commence employment. it's standard as part of many contracts these days.

 

[Eggmundo]

So what's needed? Simpler administration? Or administration with protocols to protect the confidentiality that seems important to some people?

I don't know the answer! The guys running the show should, that's what they get huge pay packets for.

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

L/B,a couple of points. I have honestly nothing to hide,however patient confidentiality is important to me. I do trust frontline health care staff,however (source todays D/mail) At Norfolk and Norwich university hospitals trust,a member of staff is being disicplined after summary sheets from wards were found in a household wheelie bin. The papers contained names,numbers and information about patients conditions. This kind of information is private,and yet can't be kept secure. Why ?

I'd think you'll find that those were handover sheets. They are given to every nurse when we do handovers so we can keep up to date with o/n or weekend issues. It's easy as pie to take home, I often do, but take off the patient's names, and then rip them into tiny pieces after, as there are conditions that i dont understand. There should be something done about it, but there is no way to stop them being priinted etc, else we'd be f***ed!

 

[Woodchip]

It is difficult. Obviously with doctors & nurses etc, you are bound to confidentiality, I'm sure that medical receptionists would have the nouse to adhere to this also - as all records have "CONFIDENTIAL" written on the front of them!

I'm certain I've had to sign an Access to Medical Records Act for my job, and I don't even read the stuff. I merely test the system that handles the information. If I'm in breach of that then I'm out on my ear, no questions ask. I'm sure the secretary would have had to sign a similar form.