Confidentiality & Medical Records
The practice complies with data protection and access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:
- To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
- To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
- When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases annonymmised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.
If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.
Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.
Freedom of Information
Information about the General Practitioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the practice manager.
Access to Records
In accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the practice manager via a subject access request form, this form is available from reception . No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.
Violence Policy
The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.
Mailbox Policy
2 way communication Mailbox Policy – digital solutions
An email from a patient is classed as a medical record and will need to be added to their notes at all times and read coded as such.
The Practice enquires email address is enquiries.w94034@wales.nhs.uk
• The mailboxes are checked regularly by the reception team during working hours.
• The enquiries mailbox automatically sends an automated reply during the first contact.
• The enquiries mailbox is designed only for :
1. Requests for call back from a member of the clinical team
2. Request for an appointment
3. General enquiries.
Patients will receive an auto response from the email at all times.
E Consult
• The mailboxes are logged and checked daily by the reception team and passed to the on call Traige GP – all digital requests are triaged by a GP.
• The E consult mailbox is designed for:
1. Requests for GP advice and self help advice.
2. General administrative enquires
3. Sick notes
Patients will receive an automated E consult response and allocated a reference number.
E Consult is automatically imported into the patients records.
E Consult Lite – for those unable to complete an econsult or contact the practice through a digital solution, receptionists will be able to complete an econult lite for patients via telephone. Though Econsult is the preferred method as it gives patients the ability to provide as much information as it required.
MHOL
• Patients are able to contact the practice to order their prescriptions via vision MY HEALTH ONLINE. Patients need to be signed up for this service by contacting a member of the reception team