Deleting or changing medical records

meltler

Has anyone ever managed to get any information removed or changed from their medical record? i have never actually heard of a case where this has happened but i still am interested in trying.

I recently got a copy of my medical record for the past 10 years and i am not happy at what i have seen.

For my situation, i attended some psychotherapy appointments around 8 years ago because i was going through a difficult time with some OCD. At the time i was told that this information would not get put on my medical record if i didn't want it to be and i chose not to. The information is also not completely correct, i was misunderstood by the adviser.

I also understand that medical records can be helpful in future situations, but in this instance it will not help at all and i personally think that anyone who reads it will just get confused.

I may write to my GP, or is there a better way to go about this?

Chapter24

Yes write to your GP in the first instance.


I've got a somewhat similar issue, except that I am the one who is mentioned on someone else's medical records (as their carer) and I have my suspicions they have written stuff about me that is inaccurate or just plain wrong. But because it's someone else's records, and that 'someone else' is only allowed to access them at the hospital with a member of staff there looking over their shoulder while they do so, there's sod all I can do about it, it seems


Basically, your NHS file is a government record, it belongs to them, not you, and what's on it doesn't get changed or altered. That's why it pays to be a little bit careful what you say to medics.. sorry to sound negative but that's the way things are run in this country!

Undervalued

meltler wrote: »

Has anyone ever managed to get any information removed or changed from their medical record? i have never actually heard of a case where this has happened but i still am interested in trying.

I recently got a copy of my medical record for the past 10 years and i am not happy at what i have seen.

For my situation, i attended some psychotherapy appointments around 8 years ago because i was going through a difficult time with some OCD. At the time i was told that this information would not get put on my medical record if i didn't want it to be and i chose not to. The information is also not completely correct, i was misunderstood by the adviser.

I also understand that medical records can be helpful in future situations, but in this instance it will not help at all and i personally think that anyone who reads it will just get confused.

I may write to my GP, or is there a better way to go about this?

Remember the record records what the doctor / medical professional thought at the time, be that right or wrong!

Subsequent investigation may lead to a different diagnosis. Or, in certain circumstances, the record may help to show that the medic was negligent or incompetent. If that happened and you wanted to make a claim then you would be glad that the record could not easily be deleted!

As I mentioned in your other recent thread, unless you and the doctor can agree to change the record your only option generally is to ask for a statement of your views to be added alongside the disputed record.

meltler

Thank you Undervalued for your help.

theoretica

The medical system is so busy nowadays that I imagine few records from eight years ago ever get read.

dekaspace

Based on what happened to a relative, I wouldn't trust information to not be used against you. In this case it was that when they were a child they jumped off a slide in the days before there was that foam/rubber and it was just concrete and broke their leg. The doctor at the time put it down as suspected child abuse by the father who at the time was working 40 miles away! This information was used against the family when a custody hearing came up for his child(I mean the one who by now was grown up and had child of his own) as a risk!!!


So anything can be used right or wrong.

meltler

dekaspace wrote: »

Based on what happened to a relative, I wouldn't trust information to not be used against you. In this case it was that when they were a child they jumped off a slide in the days before there was that foam/rubber and it was just concrete and broke their leg. The doctor at the time put it down as suspected child abuse by the father who at the time was working 40 miles away! This information was used against the family when a custody hearing came up for his child(I mean the one who by now was grown up and had child of his own) as a risk!!!


So anything can be used right or wrong.

This is what i mean, you may think that no one gives a damn but sometime in future it could affect you in some way. I have had staff reading my record before seeing me and then behaving differently, whereas before the information it was on my record they didn't even remember me! and i've been visiting the surgery for decades.

Undervalued

meltler wrote: »

This is what i mean, you may think that no one gives a damn but sometime in future it could affect you in some way. I have had staff reading my record before seeing me and then behaving differently, whereas before the information it was on my record they didn't even remember me! and i've been visiting the surgery for decades.

That, to be fair, is normal and to be expected. If you think how many patients a GP has on the books then realistically the only way they can appear to "know" you and be your local friendly doctor is to have something to remind them. The patient tends to think the GP will somehow remember every detail of a 10 min consultation several weeks ago despite having seen literally hundreds of patients since!

Getting past history from the patient, if there were no records, will take far longer than looking at the brief notes on the system.

Yes, I fully understand and share your concern if there is something wrong on the system which is likely to prejudice the doctor's approach. It can be extremely difficult to get that changed. Ultimately who decides? If the patient is of one opinion but the doctor takes a different view then how should that be resolved?

One (expensive) solution is to see a GP privately (c. £100 for 30 mins). They won't have access to your NHS record so will be starting with a clean sheet of paper and basing everything on what you tell them and the result of any new tests they conduct.

suki1964

Whatever you revealed in your therapy sessions will have an impact on how you are treated, of course it will

I have a long history of Alcoholism, I managed to conceal it for years from my GP and even my psychiatrist - I was diagnosed as borderline personality disorder and treated accordingly. Totally the wrong diagnoses, wrong treatment, so it allowed me to carry on boozing till I near enough ended up dead - seriously ill, in liver failure, enlarged heart etc etc etc

Roll on 20 years and the Alcohol dependency is still very pertinent to anything wrong with me today. Yes its a pain in the arris when the first thing Im asked is how much am I drinking at the moment , but if Im not honest, so that they know what they are looking for, how can I expect to receive the correct diagnoses and treatment?

If what has been written is onerous, then do go back and discuss it and ask for its removal or get a statement added. But if in fact its correct , why would you want to?

kirtondm

Unless the information recorded is wrong you have no right to have it changed / deleted.

meltler

kirtondm wrote: »

Unless the information recorded is wrong you have no right to have it changed / deleted.

And if i were to say it's wrong would that even mean anything? i'm assuming only the person who recorded it can change/delete it and the chances of that happening are very unlikely. I guess i have learned my lesson and will be cautious in future!