NHS patients should have easy access to theirmedical recordsthrough an online
database interface, according to the GP who took over Harold
Shipman's practice near Manchester.
Amir Hannan, a GP in Hyde, told a recent BCS Health Informatics
Specialist Group meeting, "A patient's medical record performs a
vital role in his or her ongoing care. Patients can not feel
confident they will be safely treated unless they are confident the
information in their record is correct."
Amir Hannan took over the practice in Hyde where Harold Shipman
had killed patients with opiate overdoses.
Shipman had falsified medical records to cover his tracks and
Dr Hannan tried to restore patients' confidence by offering them
complete access to their records.
This was done first by CD and later online. The online project
is a collaboration between: EMIS,
an IT supplier to GP surgeries; Patient Access Electronic
Record System (PAERS), a company that
provides GP surgeries with
touchscreen database interfaces for patients; GPs; and
patients. The system is generic, and could work with any GP
system.
Access is password-protected, but there are plans for two-factor
authentication in the near future. The patient normally controls
access, but there are guidelines where the patient's competence is
in doubt.
Features include allowing patients to make bookings from a large
number of possible appointments and requesting repeat
prescriptions.
The system links from a list of a patients' prescriptions to an
approved website with information about each prescription and other
related websites. The record shows allergies, current medication,
clinical problems, family health history and summaries of all
recent consultations.
The service was greeted with tremendous enthusiasm by
participating patients, Hannan told the BCS.
He said the system can help foster a partnership of trust
between patient and doctor, improve patients' health literacy and
help them take ownership of their illness.