Hormones 2016

Chapter 17
Discussion
This chapter is arranged just in alphabetical order, and not in order of
importance.
Accessing your health records
The NHS Constitution contains a right for patients to access their health
records, which is covered by the Data Protection Act 1998.
You have the right of access to your own health records. These
will always be used to manage your treatment in your best
interests
Some people can access their medical records online now and the plan is
to make all medical records available online in the future. However, if this
option is not available to you, you may need to ask your doctor for access
to your medical records to get copies of your test results.
You can simply ask your doctor, during a consultation, to view your records
and write them down or ask for a copy of your results and, in most cases,
doctors are willing to allow this without any problem and free of charge.
Alternatively, you can telephone your GP surgery or hospital to arrange a
time to see your records and then you can make a note of your results. There
may be a fee to access your health records (see below). However, sometimes,
doctors receptionists or the doctors themselves are not very helpful in this
respect.
So, what are your rights in respect of your health records? First of all, you
need to be aware that your health records means any record of information
relating to your physical or mental health that has been made by, or on
behalf of, a health professional (NHS, 2014h).
For the purpose of the Data Protection Act, a registered health professional
can be one of the following people -
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