Are millions of patient records about to go online?

Four years behind schedule, a £12 billion government programme to make millions of medical records available online, is finally due to go live. The records contain details, for example, of allergies and medications and the objective is to make it easier to share such key data about patients.

The programme is to be launched in London on November 19th 2009 but will eventually be rolled out across England.

The information is based on a patient’s GP record but it is has been developed so that any doctor treating a patient can access the data and if necessary, add to it. The online system is intended to make it easier for hospitals and surgeries to share the same information and therefore provide a more efficient service to the patient. It will also allow doctors to rely on recorded and therefore, more accurate data rather than patient recollection. This will result in healthcare being made a lot safer.

People across London, however, will be informed that it is possible to opt out should they not wish to have a summary care record created.

For further information on Electronic Document Management, please contact The IPC Group on 08081 45 46 47