Questions raised about patient access to GP record:
What happens if a patient is misrepresented by those writing the notes whether its a GP or another clinician such as a psychiatrist/psychologist?
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on Sunday, December 16th, 2007 at 4:36 pm and is filed under Discussion.
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My local hospital sent me a letter saying I had failed an appointment, and the Specialist was refering me back to my GP. It was their mistake, they admitted there wasnt any such appointment.
However they had also sent a copy of the letter to my GP surgery which they had posted onto my electronic record, I rang and asked if it could be removed, and the answer was NO. So in answer to your question, What happens if a patient is misrepresented by those writing the notes, NOTHING, to my disappointment, I feel I have a cloud over my head, it stays there forever, even though I havent done anything wrong, BUT at least I know why its there.
On the good side, I use my records to reorder prescriptions, read notes and make appointments so I enjoy this method of
accessing my medical records to keep my eye on my medical history, especially before attending appointments.
Having used healthcare in Cyprus, the system is much less complicated than the NHS. If I needed an x-ray, I could walk into a radiologists surgery and be given an x-ray within minutes. (I pay for this, the cost is not too great) The x-rays and his report are then handed to me. I can read his comments and discuss issues with him there and then before I take them to the doctor who requested them. These files are kept in my possession. In this way, I am given the good, or even the bad news straight away. In the NHS it could take weeks for the results to be delivered, and I’m am only saying their system could be more streamlined. To some users, the internet access will bring back a feeling of control over their health issues. It was once a practise not to tell patients if they had a terminal disease. It was never discussed between Doctor and patient as was the case with my mother in the late 60’s. We have now progressed. This is the way forward.
Reply to J Burgess, if the offending letter can’t be removed surely an explaining comment can be attached.
In mental health there usually are different narratives of events from the different perspectives of
clinicians, patients and relatives. If there are major dicrepancies between e.g. the clinician’s narrative
and the patient’s I have suggested to the patient they submit their own narrative to be included next to
what the clinician said. E.G. if a patient felt as if their reported behaviour was far different from that
described in a discharged summary and other relevant factors not taken into account (e.g. stressful
family relationships) thne they could submit their own version of accounts to be filed next to the discharge summary
sorry if this is a double post
can’t see my eariler post above
in mental (any) health i would suggest that if a patient disagrees
with what is written they should be allowed to file their own point of view/ narrative
next to the parts they disagree with
In mental health there are many diffierent narratives e.g from clinicians/ patients/ relatives
and they don’t always agree
I wholeheartedly concur with comments made ( J. Burgess Says: December 17th, 2007 at 1:46 am )
the Patient has no redress, “no comeback” on the postings.
It goes without saying The repercussions resulting from such misrepresentations can be detrimental and disconcerting to
Patients , indeed they may not even be aware,unless they examine their records carefully.
This issue surely needs to be examined