Confidentiality

As a patient of this practice, your medical records are confidential, and are accessible only to the members of the Primary Health Care Team involved in your care. However,  there may be occasions when other professionals have access to your records. Specifically, these include:

• Medical students who require access to support their learning
• Audit assistants who require access to ensure high standards of care are being maintained by the practice.
• Research assistants who require access as part of approved research projects. 
•  Studies used for health care research purposes requiring anonymous information designed to help us protect the health of the public generally, plan for the future and train staff for the benefit of everyone.

You should be reassured that all persons who have access to your medical records are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as members of the Primary Health Care Team.

You have the right to object in writing to such access, and your objections will be respected, except where access is essential to protect yourself or someone else from risk of death or serious harm.

We are unable to discuss any matters with your relatives without your express written permission. This includes queries regarding your treatment, medication, hospital appointments and results.
 
The staff at this practice record information about you and your health so that you can receive the right care and treatment. We need to record this information, together with the details of the care you receive, because it may be needed if we see you again.

We sometimes disclose some of your personal health information with other organisations involved in your care.  For example, when your doctor refers you to a specialist at the hospital we will send relevant details about you in the referral letter and receive information about you from them, Our Practice also participates in regional and national programmes such as cervical cytology screening service.

We may use some information for other reasons, for example, to help us to protect the health of the general public generally, to plan for the future, to train staff and to carry out medical and other health research for the benefit of everyone

We need to use some of your personal health information for administration purposes. In order to receive payment for services provided to you, we have to disclose basic details about you to the NHS Board responsible for this area and to the Common Services Agency for the Scottish health service.  These organisations have a role in protecting public funds and are authorised to check that payments are being properly made. We are required to co-operate with these checks and the disclosure of your data is a necessary part of our provision of healthcare services.

Our use of your personal health information is covered by a duty of confidentiality and is regulated by the Data Protection Act 2018.  The Data Protection Act 2018 gives you a number of rights in relation to how your personal information is used, including the information we hold about you.

Note that you have a right of access to your health records.  Please see above link for more information