Patients’ access to their electronic record: proceed with caution

Abstract

GPs have always been at the forefront of IT developments in the NHS. We were quick to see the benefits that computers could offer, helping to improve the quality and safety of clinical care and supporting the efficient delivery of primary care. While hospital colleagues have had to contend with the difficulties of providing care for patients using large patient paper records that could often go missing, for the nearly 20 years that I have been a GP, I have never worked without a computer on my surgery desk. Initially it was the ease with which repeat prescriptions could be issued and the help offered in doing clinical audit and practice management, but soon GPs realised the benefit of developing a single comprehensive electronic patient record. Today it would be almost impossible to achieve the high standards of clinical care that GPs consistently deliver for patients with increasingly complex needs without the support of our clinical IT systems. However as our systems develop, they bring new challenges, and rather than simply moving forward at speed because IT developments allow us to, it is important that we pause, think carefully, and deal with each challenge appropriately to avoid putting at risk the foundation on which our electronic records are built: patients’ trust. Patients trust us with their life stories. They trust us with information that they would not even tell their closest friend or life partner. We sit next to patients at some of the most difficult times of their lives. Patients know that our professionalism means we will retain that confidence, and only share it with others when it is …