Review of patient records urged two years ago: report

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor 730AM GMT eleven March 2010

The inhabitant outline caring jot down is right afar being rolled out with the target of together with short healing sum of 50m people opposite the nation by 2012.

Doctors have warned the system, destined to assistance provide patients taken ill out of hours or afar from home, is being rushed and have called for it to be halted.

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Records are right afar being uploaded in Bolton, Bury, Bradford, Dorset, South West Essex and South Birmingham.

Everyone else who is purebred with a GP and over the age of sixteen will be reception a minute in the subsequent couple of weeks and months if they have not already perceived one.

It has right afar emerged that an analysis of the initial commander areas, dual years ago, lifted critical questions over how the complement was being run and urged an obligatory review.

A surprise conducted by University College London warned that usually thirty per cent of patients endangered in the early pilots were wakeful of the outline caring record, even though all should have perceived letters informing them.

If the studious does zero after reception the minute their annals will automatically be uploaded to the system. Only if they actively opt out will their annals sojourn with their internal GP.

This process of "implied consent" was questioned in the UCL surprise and it was warned that it should be urgently reviewed.

The UCL surprise pronounced "Health surprise systems academics and ethicists have argued that pragmatic agree ("if we dont listen to form you, well upload your record") is usually sensitive agree (and usually ethical) if there is justification that the studious has review and accepted their mail and additionally that they know what is on their record."

It pronounced that there was substantial insurgency from GP staff obliged for studious confidentiality, well known as Caldicott Guardians.

"The actuality that majority of the particular insurgency inside of GP practices has come not from IT-ignorant laggards but from Caldicott Guardians who are in all the majority information-literate members of staff and positively the grave custodians of the practices interpretation adds weight to the evidence that the stream agree indication should be urgently reviewed," it said.

It comes as five of the ten vital health authorities in England are starting to write to patients about uploading their data.

The Dailyhighlighted the problems yesterday and dozens of readers have created to contend they have had problems perplexing to opt out of the system.

They complained that the surprise packs do not enclose opt out forms and they are instead destined to a inhabitant phone series or a website to download one instead.

The letters emphasize the benefits of the outline caring jot down and indicate that studious reserve might be put at risk by not carrying one since doctors might not know the patient"s stream medications or allergies.

GPs in London, where letters are right afar being sent to patients, are so endangered over the miss of open bargain of the caring jot down that they have constructed their own leaflets and posters for practices.

Dr Michelle Drage, authority of the Londonwide Local Medical Committees, that paint GPs in the capital, pronounced "We have already been removing reports from practices saying patients who are confused and who do not assimilate what the letters said.

"We will be promulgation serve superintendence out to doctors."

Dr Grant Ingrams, authority of GP IT Committee at the British Medical Association warned that the letters looked similar to junk mail and so might have been thrown afar or patients might not have accepted them.

He pronounced "We should be seeking at this again."

Prof Ross Anderston, highbrow of security engineering at Cambridge University pronounced the agree complement was "not valid".

He pronounced "Research has shown that 7 out of ten people in the commander areas were utterly unknowingly that the outline caring jot down existed. The basement for agree is false."

University College London are right afar compiling a second surprise on the outline caring jot down that is due to be presented to ministers subsequent month.

A Department of Health orator pronounced "As well as essay to patients away to surprise them about formulating a Summary Care Record, we built in an additional turn of insurance by asking patients accede for their annals to be noticed by healthcare professionals. This is without delay in reply to the letter of reference done by the UCL analysis in 2008.

"The stream UCL analysis was lengthened to foster one after another guidance as Summary Care Records proceed to be implemented some-more widely."