Accessing your GP-held records via SystmOnline, NHS app or Airmid
As your GP practice, we have been asked by NHS England to provide you with prospective online access to your full medical record from November 2023 via the NHS app (and NHS website) if you have a suitable NHS login.
Your GP medical record contains consultation notes based on conversations between you, your GP and their team: medicines prescribed to you; all test results including hospital investigations; allergies; vaccines; and your medical conditions along with documents that may have been sent from local hospitals, clinics or other agencies, e.g. the police. There is likely to be sensitive and personal information within your medical record.
We are supportive of providing you with access to your record, but we wish to do this safely and make you aware that this is now available.
Shirland Medical has adopted an opt in process. If you would like online access, please complete the opt in Prospective Access request form below.
It should be noted that following NHS guidance some patients who fall into certain groups where there is potential for risk or harm access will be withheld.
You can also opt out if you wish by completing the opt out form below. If you are in a difficult or pressured relationship for example, you may prefer your records to remain accessible only to those treating you, with them not appearing on your smartphone or online. Government has been clear that if a patient does not wish to have access, then we do not have to provide it. This is one reason why we have asked if you wish to opt out, or have it switched off for the time being.
Please note you can still book appointments, order repeat medications and access test results online without having prospective online access.
It’s important to remember that these documents may, at times, contain information that could be upsetting, especially if they contain news of a serious condition. It can also be a cause for worry seeing results online when it isn’t clear what the results might mean, and no one is available to ask, as can be the case during the evening or at weekends, for example.
Sometimes people with a mental health condition might prefer not to see documents that remind them of difficult times in their life. Letters from mental health teams sometimes go into detail about past events, and great care would be needed in deciding whether you would want to see these letters. It is possible for individual items to be hidden at your request and your GP would be happy to talk about any concerns you may have.
Please note that only data entries which are added to GP records after the switch on 31.10.2023 will be viewable. Data recorded before that date (i.e. previous medical history) will not be made available at this time.