Blood test results from GP practice

[BrianTheElder]

I just wanted to share this with anyone who is having difficulty getting their blood test results.
I sent the following email to my GP practice.
Hello
I understand that patients’ medical records should be available online from March last year.
I have online access, but I can only see my appointments and immunisations. However, I would like to see my blood test results as well.
Do you have an advanced access request form? If so, I would be grateful if you would send me one, please.
Regards
XXXXXX
I got this reply this morning
Thank you for your request XXXXXX, you are the first person to ask! I have passed it onto the Practice Manager who will be dealing with it promptly.
Kind Regards
ZZZZZZ
This is after the receptionist told me a) no further information was available, b) they hadn't signed up to provide additional information.
Please use my email as a pro forma if it helps.
I will let you know what happens.

 

[Prem51]

Thanks for posting that. Unfortunately my GP surgery does not publicise their email address, so I have to go in to get any information. Fortunately it's only a few hundred yards away.
I suspect I may be the only patient there to have asked for access to my records. I filled in and signed the release/consent form last September, but my records are still not online.
I will be going in to see the Practice Manager when I get back in February to chase it up.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Just out of interest, where are our detailed records physically held?

I see that NHS choices say "Since April 2015 all GPs should offer their patients online access to summary information of their GP records." I've emphasised summary because I think that's probably the important bit.

 

[Mr_Pot]

I recently signed up to on-line access and I get the full blood test, the same as a print out. Also I can see appointments, prescriptions and my medical history going back 20 years. There was a delay of a couple of days after I submitted the application for a doctor to consider if I should have access beyond the appointments and prescriptions sections.They are apparently working on giving access to doctor's notes. I am not sure that is a good idea as doctors could be inhibited in what they record.

 

[Juicetin]

I get full test results online too, full details. West Midlands. I don't see GP notes.

 

[James1968]

I have just sent away an e-mail so I have access to my history
but I am in Scotland

 

[Snapsy]

Thank you so much for this, @BrianTheElder - I'm going to write to my own practice.

 

[BrianTheElder]

Just out of interest, where are our detailed records physically held?

I see that NHS choices say "Since April 2015 all GPs should offer their patients online access to summary information of their GP records." I've emphasised summary because I think that's probably the important bit.

From what I have seen, on paper in files at the back of the surgery. I would have thought any central files would be electronic by now. Both my wife and I have had records lost at the hospital though, so carelessness can affect records whether paper or computer.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Just out of interest, where are our detailed records physically held?

I see that NHS choices say "Since April 2015 all GPs should offer their patients online access to summary information of their GP records." I've emphasised summary because I think that's probably the important bit.

Any results or documentation we see on line is known as "coded". In other words, the doctors use codes to allow or stop certain information going on line.

I can see all my blood test results going back to 2008, also other tests ordered by the doctor such as smear tests, immunisations back to ..... 1948! Consultations back several years (2008 I think), a list of more serious diagnosed problems and a list of non-serious diagnosed problems, some of which go back to childhood 60 odd years ago. I broke my leg when I was 2 and those details are there! There is a page for documentation, but that is blank.

What I found interesting was a recent consultation with my diabetes nurse which consists of tick boxes!!

There are no hospital records included - just a note in the list of diagnosed problems added by my GP after she presumably received a letter from the consultant..

 

[ickihun]

I'm a worrier so just test results would suit me. Which they print off for me anyway.

 

[Goonergal]

I've just emailed my practice to ask as when I asked at reception on my last visit the receptionist knew nothing about it.

@Prem51 my practice doesn't publicise an email address, but tucked away at the bottom of the page under 'contact us' was a webform for sending messages, so I've tried that.

 

[Gadget_man]

After reading this thread, and having experienced my GP's apparent lack of up to date knowledge on Diabetes, I emailed my practice about records access and received a very prompt reply with an access form attached. Unfortunately you can't fill it in online it has to be done manually and taken to the practice for action, but the prompt reply from them knowing what I wanted is very encouraging.

 

[wiseowl_123]

I am also a worrier and prefer to be much like a mushroom fed on xxxx and kept in the dark

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Any results or documentation we see on line is known as "coded". In other words, the doctors use codes to allow or stop certain information going on line.

Probably not true but sometimes amusing. For example NFN means Normal for Norfolk. There's a whole lot more here. Might make you grin if you're having a bad day.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...re-GPO-CLL--GPs-secret-language-revealed.html

 

[Avocado Sevenfold]

Probably not true but sometimes amusing. For example NFN means Normal for Norfolk. There's a whole lot more here. Might make you grin if you're having a bad day.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...re-GPO-CLL--GPs-secret-language-revealed.html

In that article, LOL = Little Old Lady

This reminds me of my daughter's friend whose mother thought LOL = Lots of Love.

One day he received a text from his mother which read, "Your aunty has died LOL"

Fortunately he found this very funny so he did LOL.

 

[Avocado Sevenfold]

Back on topic, I saw posters up in my local surgery the other day for this https://patient.emisaccess.co.uk/account/login?ReturnUrl=/

Perhaps that is what you are all talking about, but I have not seen such GP access available in Scotland before. We have MDMW for accessing diabetes results, but this is something else. Would be handy to reorder prescriptions for example without tying up the surgery phone line. Will ask Nursie about it this week when I see her.

 

[AndBreathe]

Back on topic, I saw posters up in my local surgery the other day for this https://patient.emisaccess.co.uk/account/login?ReturnUrl=/

Perhaps that is what you are all talking about, but I have not seen such GP access available in Scotland before. We have MDMW for accessing diabetes results, but this is something else. Would be handy to reorder prescriptions for example without tying up the surgery phone line. Will ask Nursie about it this week when I see her.

Yes, Avo, that's one of the two systems available. The other is called SystemOnline (no space), which pretty much does the same.

 

[AndBreathe]

Any results or documentation we see on line is known as "coded". In other words, the doctors use codes to allow or stop certain information going on line.

I can see all my blood test results going back to 2008, also other tests ordered by the doctor such as smear tests, immunisations back to ..... 1948! Consultations back several years (2008 I think), a list of more serious diagnosed problems and a list of non-serious diagnosed problems, some of which go back to childhood 60 odd years ago. I broke my leg when I was 2 and those details are there! There is a page for documentation, but that is blank.

What I found interesting was a recent consultation with my diabetes nurse which consists of tick boxes!!

There are no hospital records included - just a note in the list of diagnosed problems added by my GP after she presumably received a letter from the consultant..

Blue, whilst the system does limit what the patient can see, the coded aspect is, in my view, all about a consistent data recording medium (i.e. diabetes review/tests/online referral, or whatever) will be used in data mining, rather than the database having to search through free text. Data mining on free test is simply a nightmare and not usually very robust.

I think these days, bearing in mind we can have access to our full records, if we make a request and pay the relevant fee (Data Subject Access Request), it would be a bit daft for the GP to actually write in my notes that's I'm a bonkers, low-carb nutter; even if she thinks it.

They can decline access to medical records on the basis that seeing them would be harmful to the patient, but that's likely be few and far between

Where I noted an alarming discrepancy in one of my own data entries, when I gained access, I trotted off to talk to the Practice Manager, to explain my concerns. After a fairly long discussion, I said I wanted to see the full entry (not just the coded element), plus their copy of the Consultant correspondence, and to have the record corrected. She was happy with everything, aside from correcting the record. When I explained I'd just have to work out which body I would escalate my request through it was corrected by the time I got home. I assume she had spoken to the Doc, in order to change the record.

All that ramble was really to make the point they don't always charge a fee. I waffled.

 

[wiseowl_123]

Good afternoon I am going to pop into my surgery tomorrow

 

[lowedb]

Good afternoon I am going to pop into my surgery tomorrow

View attachment 21743

Yep that's what I did. I have access but only to my medication record. Nothing useful. I'll be writing to the practice manager at some point.