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GDPR and GP reports
From the Law Society Gazette -
Tensions are rising between doctors and solicitors as GP surgeries complain of being bombarded with requests for free copies of patient records.
With limited exceptions, law firms have been able to retrieve client records free of charge since last May’s changes to data protection law. They previously paid up to £50 a time ...
The BMA tells members on its website that under new regulations a medical report that already exists will be accessible free as an SAR (subject access request). A ‘reasonable’ fee can be charged for an SAR if the request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’.
More: https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/solicitors-patient-data-demands-anger-gps-/5067585.article
can the surgeries not just make the report available free if picked up in person but charge an admin fee for it to be posted and add in cost for the time that takes and the postage.
can the surgeries not just make the report available free if picked up in person but charge an admin fee for it to be posted and add in cost for the time that takes and the postage.
the GP’s point about GDPR is about RECORDS not about any reports they might be asked to write.
They can still charge for reports, but not for the records themselves.
TBH, i’m not surprised they’re hacked off, it’s a lot of work for them for no charge, takes away from what they’re meant to be doing, and no one reimburses them at all. Was just discussing this with our ATE insurer this morning. I think the assumption is that the whole lot is electronic and can be just dumped on a disc, which is relatively cheap to do - and those practices who can do that are. the problem is those where stuff hasn’t been scanned in and can’t easily be put on disc, and then they have to print.
No excuse for solicitors to be rude about it though (although I recently threatened to report a practice to the ICO as they were refusing to provide the records at all….)
can the surgeries not just make the report available free if picked up in person but charge an admin fee for it to be posted and add in cost for the time that takes and the postage.
the GP’s point about GDPR is about RECORDS not about any reports they might be asked to write.
They can still charge for reports, but not for the records themselves.
TBH, i’m not surprised they’re hacked off, it’s a lot of work for them for no charge, takes away from what they’re meant to be doing, and no one reimburses them at all. Was just discussing this with our ATE insurer this morning. I think the assumption is that the whole lot is electronic and can be just dumped on a disc, which is relatively cheap to do - and those practices who can do that are. the problem is those where stuff hasn’t been scanned in and can’t easily be put on disc, and then they have to print.
No excuse for solicitors to be rude about it though (although I recently threatened to report a practice to the ICO as they were refusing to provide the records at all….)
sorry i meant records not reports.
i was just thinking that charging for the admin to post might be a way around it if they are annoyed with the costs etc involved.
i have a lot of sympathy with GP’s as well. it must be very frustrating to end up as administrators for all manner of other systems when you want to spend your time actually treating patients.
From the BMA:
Since 25 May, in most cases, patients must be given access to their medical records as a Subject Access Request (SAR) free of charge, including when a patient authorises access by a third party such as a solicitor.
If the request is for a medical report to be created, or for interpretation of information within a medical report/record, this will fall under the Access to Medical Report Act (AMRA) - as these both require new data to be created, which is out with the scope of the GDPR and Subject Access Requests. In these cases, a fee can be charged.
A medical report/record that already exists will be accessible, for free, as a SAR. A ‘reasonable fee’ can be charged for a SAR if the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, however, these circumstances are likely to be rare.
More: https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/employment/fees/medical-records
How do I know the difference between a SAR and a request under the Access to Medical Reports Act?
The GDPR entitles individuals to obtain a copy of their personal data. If the request from the solicitor is for a copy of the patient’s medical record, or a copy of some elements of the medical record, it is a SAR.
If the request is asking for a report to be written or it is asking for an interpretation of information within the record this request goes beyond a SAR. It is likely that such requests will fall under the Access to Medical Reports Act framework (or, in Northern Ireland, the Access to Personal Files and Medical Reports (Northern Ireland) Order 1991) - for which fees can be charged.
It is legitimate for GPs to clarify the nature of the request from the solicitor. If the solicitor confirms that they are seeking a copy of the medical record then this should be treated as a SAR and complied with in the usual way.
Can GPs charge for the cost of postage?
No, the process of complying with a SAR – including postage costs - is free of charge unless the request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ in which case a reasonable fee can be charged.
well there you go then.
nae luck gp’s.
Surely if we just time limit our requests that would mitigate the problem; at least to a degree. There’s usually little point in requesting records more than 2 years old but reading this and the “thousinds of pages” thing I’d guess firms are just requesting the lot.
OTOH it’s surely a case for more GP practices to grant access to patient records online.
Surely if we just time limit our requests that would mitigate the problem; at least to a degree. There’s usually little point in requesting records more than 2 years old but reading this and the “thousinds of pages” thing I’d guess firms are just requesting the lot.
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yes, because when you’re doing a PI claim you have to check there was no pre existing injury to the relevant bit of the body, no underlying condition that was already causing damage to the relevant bit, so on and so forth
failing to get those records and having your medical specialist review them (at vast expense) leads to criticism from defendants and their requesting the same records
and that’s before you get to the odd person who says, e.g., oh x is really bad since the accident and i needed surgery and so on - and you get the records, and whatever it was was already buggered anyway and surgery had been recommended pre accident
and then there’s industrial diseases, where pre existing is highly relevant, not to mention you mgiht find your client is in fact time barred
and clinical negligence where who knows what you might find, depending on the particular negligence alleged - e.g., mis management of labour when the records show the woman had serious issues with that previously ....
etc.
we din’t just do it willy nilly (apart from anything else, the time involved in reading the stuff is astronomic - but edifying…
Slightly off topic but has anyone put together a ‘Medical Record request form’ incorporating the GDPR regs?
Haven’t got a standard letter as such, but a simple request including the phrase ‘I understand that under GDPR this subject access request should be dealt with free of charge, and the BMA have confirmed that this is the case unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive’ seems to do the job.
Surely if we just time limit our requests that would mitigate the problem; at least to a degree. There’s usually little point in requesting records more than 2 years old but reading this and the “thousinds of pages” thing I’d guess firms are just requesting the lot.
.
... was already buggered anyway ...
I thought in my insomnia I’d wandered into the UC section of the forum :-)