Originally posted by LMcD
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There's two issues. A major one is the decades long failed NHS IT project( a certain company currently in the headlines had an involvement), not helped by GP surgeries being private businesses. So, lots of different hardware and software that isn't compatible. I don't know if there are different arrangements about sharing data depending on what health authority you are in, but I was asked a good few years ago for consent to "share information to improve patient outcomes" from GP to hospital. I didn't give it for several reasons, but in any case I found on a couple of visits that the information that the hospital had taken from me direct had got mangled such that it was incorrect so I'm not convinced that anything they had from the GP would do much to improve outcomes! -
I believe UK still follows the principles of GDPR (The EU's General Data Protection Regulation) and therefore the patient's permission is required in such cases.Originally posted by oddoneout View Post
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Does the hospital seek permission from the patient or does the patient have to ask the hospital, and does the hospital have discretionary power to refuse if it sees fit? Perhaps the GDPR is sometimes used as a means of avoiding the issue of the incompatibilities that undoubtedly exist between different operating systems in different parts of the NHS.Originally posted by kernelbogey View Post
I have heard that, in some places, a brief summary of a patient's GP records can be made available to a hospital 'under certain circumstances' - yet another form of postcode lottery?
It's ironic that, on one of the few occasions when we might wish certain personal information to be made more widely available, it's not always clear how this can come about.Comment
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I can't answer those questions. But I was in one situation where I gave blanket permission to the hospital to ask my GP surgery for information. (Atm can't bring to mind more detail - sorry.). However, as you (we) can now ask for a copy of all our GP's records, you (we) could always ask for that and take them with you to a hospital appointment.Originally posted by LMcD View Post
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In theory yes, in practice not so much. The whole question of patient data has been rumbling on for many years. I have signed several opt-outs during that time but have little confidence my wishes will be respected. In the early stages it was possible(and easy, I did it without any effort) to see the menu of data available and the prices charged to acquire datasets. The official line was that no individual could be identified, but as was pointed out anonymised data is not secure(especially the way it was being done), and not the same as encrypted, and working back to identify individuals was easy.Originally posted by kernelbogey View Post
There are two official lines of response. One says that your data will not be/is not sold, the other is happy to transfer such data(and the control of it) to the likes of Palantir.
It frustrates me as I fully understand the value of such data to research, but I don't consider the powers that be have either the competence or the integrity to ensure that all possible protections are in place and observed if such data is released.Comment
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For a fee? The last time(admittedly several years ago) I asked the GP surgery for a copy of a report from a hospital appointment that I was told would be sent to me but wasn't I was told it would cost £10. Fortunately I happened to know that there is(was ) a window of opportunity when such charges can't be levied - something like 28 days from the date of the appointment - so did eventually get a copy. On a couple of subsequent occasions the GP was happy to print off a copy of relevant information (scan and blood test results) at follow up appointments (as the hospital said they didn't provide it to the patient direct - money and work saving presumably) without charge. Whether that still is an option I don't know, I shall find out when I have(eventually) had my appointment with the spinal consultant and am told if I get a copy of the report direct from the hospital.Originally posted by kernelbogey View PostComment
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A more recent experience with NHS data was a request for vaccination records. Since the Covid business it has been possible to check on recent vaccinations online, but that only seems to work for quite recent vaccinations where a computer data entry procedure has been followed. Also some vaccinations can be done at pharmacies. I can recall having one flu jab done at a supermarket pharmacy. Those vaccinations are not automatically recorded on a GP or NHS data base AFAIK - but a request can be made to have them added to one's own record if one is sufficiently motivated to keep a consistent and up to date record.Originally posted by kernelbogey View Post
I wanted details of other vaccinations I'd had - though mostly in the last 20 or so years. I put in a request to the GP surgery, and was eventually phoned by a practice nurse. She told me that she had over 100 pages of text to scan through, but could she send over the few pages relevant to the vaccinations I wanted to confirm. I agreed, and a few pages were sent over to me - basically as scanned text files. There were details of other consultations I'd had, not just restricted to vaccinations. The comments from various doctors were vaguely amusing - and not always consistent. I was marked down as an ex smoker by one doctor - as I "confessed" that I'd tried a few cigarettes and cigars around 50 years ago. I had told other doctors before that, and they just laughed and said it was insignificant.
Presumably I could insist that all my text data is sent over to me - but I haven't bothered. Maybe I should, to find out what happened to me when I was very young!
The UK contrasts with Sweden, where it is possible to walk into any pharmacy and get one's own prescription(s) dealt with almost immediately. Some have said that this is because Sweden is a small country [physically it isn't, but the population is significantly smaller than the UK] - but that seems nonsense to me. The technology infrastructure in Sweden may be much better than the UK's - though it isn't always possible to be sure.
Privacy rules and issues like the GDPR might have an impact, though they could often just be excuses for other actions - or inactions, or maybe not actually "excuses", but just a consequence of a kind of muddled informal system. Such rules mean that if one suspects that someone needs help it's hard to get them that, but there are ways round that.
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I referred to this in an earlier post, and your post prompted me to try and access my online medical records again. A previous attempt in the past few months failed as there was no Login button anywhere, and the route I'd used previously to get online access(by logging in to the appointment booking link and going sideways) didn't seem to be available. I've just spent some time rummaging and been able to login, which is something, not least as I've found the letter the spinal consultant sent to the practice back in October following an initial review appointment.Originally posted by Dave2002 View Post
The so-called vaccination record is, as before, a work of fiction, although the Covid jabs are noted in my general records. I can't see the point of its existence as it bears no relation to the jabs I have had and therefore my current protection status.Comment
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I had my Covid jabs at a local pharmacy but if I check the NHS app all flu and Covid jabs are recorded along with details of the various contacts I've had with the surgery/GP eg about the recent shortages of medication.Originally posted by Dave2002 View Post
It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.Comment
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Same with me - my last jab was given at a pharmacy I'd never previously visited, two miles from where I live, and after giving my name and postal address they immediately checked their screen and confirmed my name and that of my surgery.Originally posted by french frank View PostComment
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Plastic toothpaste tubes.It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.Comment
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Originally posted by french frank View Post
And there was I thinking "well, and the same to you"...
...when I realised this was a new grumble!
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You might be able to recycle them, if that's the cause of your grouse.Originally posted by french frank View Post
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I do recycle them. Wash them out and put the tops in the metal-and-lids bag. But when the tube's getting empty you can fold up the metal tubes as you go, gradually pushing the toothpaste up to the top. But the plastic ones unfold again and you have to start from the bottom again. I really don't know how I copeOriginally posted by Pulcinella View Post
So it's just me, then?
It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.Comment
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You need a toothpaste tube squeezer!Originally posted by french frank View Post
I do recycle them. Wash them out and put the tops in the metal-and-lids bag. But when the tube's getting empty you can fold up the metal tubes as you go, gradually pushing the toothpaste up to the top. But the plastic ones unfold again and you have to start from the bottom again. I really don't know how I cope
So it's just me, then?
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