The Cheshire Health Record is a system designed to enable authorised doctors, nurses and other trained healthcare professionals to access a summary of your GP patient record. This could happen in hospital or unplanned care settings such as A&E or Out of Hours centres. The system will provide essential medical information which can be used to make informed clinical decisions about the treatment provided to you.
What Information will be shared?
Authorised healthcare professionals will be able to view information in your Cheshire Health Record. This may include access to:
- Active and significant past problems, including the date of your last review
- Acute and repeat medication
- Drug allergies (such as penicillin)
- Non-drug allergies (such as peanuts)
- The most recent activity and contacts added to your record
- Other organisations involved in your care
Why is it needed and what are the benefits?
Modern healthcare is tailored to the needs of the patient. Before prescribing a course of treatment your healthcare professionals need to understand your medical history. The information in your Cheshire Health Record will help to prevent possible adverse reactions and allow for safer, more efficient healthcare. At present the transfer of relevant patient information between healthcare services is a lengthy and complicated process. This system shares information in an electronic format which is secure, private and fast.
Safeguards
Your Cheshire Health Record conforms to very strict governance and security policies. It is only viewed at the point of treatment. Only authorised healthcare professionals can view your record. All records viewed are recorded with who has accessed the record and when.
Your Choice
If you do not want to share your Cheshire Health Record there are two options available to you:
Tell your GP that you wish to opt out completely, so no-one apart from your GP can see your record even in a medical emergency
or
At the point of treatment you can refuse the health professional access to your record. This means the healthcare professional providing your care will not be able to view a summary of your record. If you are unconscious or too unwell to give your permission the system will allow the healthcare professionals to view your record. This will only occur in the case of a medical emergency.
For more information, please download the flyer to find out more.