MDU advises GPs on patient access

The Medical Defence Union has produced guidance for GPs to help them to ensure the confidentiality and accuracy of medical records being made available to patients online.

Practices have been contractually required to offer patients in England online access to their Summary Care Record information since the start of the month and some are giving patients access to their whole record.

The MDU said it has been contacted by a number of GPs with queries about giving patients access to their records online, including; whether they need to limit access to sensitive information; how to deal with parents' requests to access children's records; and what to do if a patient challenges the accuracy of a record.

Dr Beverley Ward, MDU medico-legal adviser, said: "Making confidential information about patients available online has logistical difficulties, and practices will need to consider how to allow patients to access information securely, while being sensitive to any information which may cause distress.

"Fortunately, there is plenty of guidance available for practices and for patients, but there are likely to be more queries about the accuracy and contents of records once patients begin to sign up for online access. For example, GPs may need to explain any abbreviations the records contain and will need to ensure test results are reviewed and discussed with the patient before they are uploaded to the online record.

"Another area of concern is requests by parents to access children's records. For children over 16, GPs should usually get their consent before granting access to someone with parental responsibility, but for under 16s the situation is more complicated." 

The RCGP suggests that full access for those with parental responsibility should be automatically switched off at age 11 and a discussion arranged with the child and parents to consider the extent of ongoing access. 

However, the MDU says that the age at which a child becomes competent will vary and GPs should keep any access by parents under regular review.

The MDU advises GPs to think about how the patient's identification will be verified and the need to education patients about the implications if they share their log-in details with others.

Also, how to identify third party information which will need to be withheld and the importance of giving patients the opportunity to correct inaccurate or incomplete records, "but not amend content simply because they find it upsetting". 

Giving patients online access to their records is a popular manifesto pledge. Read more about the current state of records access in EHI News' latest feature on the progress of the coalition government's big healthcare IT projects, which also looks at what the parties are promising after the election on 7 May.