Some frequently asked questions about your rights as a patient, and our obligations as an NHS Trust to you including how to gain access to your patient records.
Why does Addenbrooke's keep computerised and paper records about me as a patient?
Clinical information is held about you, the patient, to ensure that clinicians have a complete and continuous record about your past, current and future treatment.
To identify who you, the patient, are we need your: name, address and date of birth.
To avoid delay in searching for your patient records, you are given a unique patient identifier: 'Your hospital number'. Your records are located by your hospital number. Your hospital number or NHS number are used, where possible, in communications about you.
Information about you, the patient, is held solely for the purpose of your health and well being.
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What are the Trust's legal responsibilities to me as a patient?
The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you, the patient, (known in the Data Protection Act as the Data Subject) various rights (see below).
All staff working in the NHS have a duty of confidentiality.
A breach of confidentiality or of the the Data Protection Act 1998 will result in the Trust or in some cases the General Medical Council (GMC) taking disciplinary action.
The Trust actively implements and regularly audits our security measures to ensure your information as a patient is safe.
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What are my rights as a patient under the Data Protection Act 1998?
You have a right as a patient to see information held about you (see Subject Access below).
You have the right as a patient to prevent the use of your information if it is likely to cause distress.
You have the right as a patient to seek compensation if you suffer damage due to the way information is used about you.
You have the right as a patient to ask for a record to be corrected if you believe factual information is wrong.
Your rights as a patient (or Data Subject) are shown in the Data Protection Act 1998.
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How can I as a patient access my patient records?
You as the patient (under the Act you are known as the Subject) need to request access to your information in writing. You need to fill in an Application for Access to Health Records Form, which can be obtained from the Information Centre/Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).
This is sent to the Access to Health Records Office, Box 82, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ.
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What happens next?
1. The Access to Health Records Officer will either deal with the access request directly or request further details from you the patient to ensure that the she is dealing with the correct patient.
2. The Officer may make an administration charge of up to £50 - this depends on the size and complexity of the request.
3. The Officer will request that the administration fee is payable prior to you the patient receiving the information the Trust holds on you.
3. The Officer will comply with the request within 40 days of receipt of the fee.
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What else can the information about me as a patient be used for?
Your information, as a patient, will be shared with other health professionals involved in your care. Other uses for the information include:
1. It will be used for clinical audit following or during your consultation or treatment.
Clinical audit reviews the current standards of patient care in the Trust against accepted best practice. The audit results are discussed by clinicians to make improvements to patient care. Audit results can be published and presented but always in an anonymised format so that individual patients can not be identified.
2. Your information could be used for research.
Research seeks to investigate new treatments, interventions and management procedures so that patient care outcomes are continually improved. Researchers research into what could be done in the future whereas clinical auditors audit what has been done.
3. Your information is sometimes passed for entry into national registers eg the diabetic register, cancer register, transplant databases and other national and local databases held (sometimes on other sites) about various illnesses.
This information is used for management purposes, and from a public health perspective to identify where and from what types of illnesses the general public suffer.
4. Your information is used to help manage the NHS.
It is passed in an anonymised format, and in some cases in an identifiable format, for national and local returns. These returns are used for waiting times, quality of information and care, and treatment information.
5. Your information could be used to educate doctors, nurses, pathologists and other professionals involved in patient care.
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