Patient record access--the time has come!

By next year a likely scenario is this: June 2007, the consultant sighs. The letter from the GP is tantalisingly brief: the reason for referral seems unclear and no test results are included. The 70-year-old patient, seeing the GP's confusion, offers to show him her records. She moves closer to the screen, taps her pin and personal password into his computer, and uses a token to generate random numbers that will ensure she is securely identified. Seconds later, all her recent consultations appear on screen, followed by all the correspondence and all test results. On the same day in A&E, a patient admitted with chest pain shows a junior doctor the reports of the last chest X-rays and ECGs ordered through his general practice. He displays this on his handheld organiser. In Leeds, the pensioner, confused by the last consultation with her GP, logs on to her records. She sees what the GP was thinking and the results on which the conversation was based. She can also see, linked with the problem title of hyperlipidaemia, a short list of weblinks that offer further information. These include a patient information leaflet, a link with patient-centred NICE guidance, and a decision aid that enables her to decide whether she should take statins or not, based on the results that she can easily access in her notes. In Valencia, the tourist shows the doctor his latest 24-hour tape results by accessing them via the Spanish desktop computer. These scenarios are likely as a result of developments in the field of record access. This paper outlines the current situation in this ongoing process, and discusses the possible impact of record access. The principle of patients having access to their own electronic health records is established. Despite some delays, NHS Connecting for Health is delivering …