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A third of patients ‘shocked’ that clinicians can’t access GP record

A third of patients have expressed their shock that GP records aren’t electronically available to any healthcare professional who is treating them, a YouGov survey of more than 2,300 British adults has found.

The survey, commissioned by the EMIS Group, found that 85% of the public want any healthcare professional to have secure access to the GP record, and almost 70% say this would cut errors and save frustration in repeating medical information.

And almost two thirds of patients (61%) were worried that records aren’t routinely shared with A&E doctors, and that this could leave to-life threatening delays.

Three in ten patients said they were ‘shocked’ that this information isn’t already shared electronically, though Pulse reported last month that more than 40 million patients have now had summary care records created.

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Chris Spencer, CEO of the EMIS Group, who produce the EMIS clinical IT systems said: ‘This survey confirms what we knew anecdotally to be true – that the vast majority of patients want clinicians to have access to their medical records at the point of care, and assume this happens as a matter of course.’

‘The reality is of course more complicated. Despite efforts to increase use of the Summary Care Record, and wider initiatives by forward-thinking system suppliers and local healthcare providers, data-sharing between clinicians is far from routine.’

‘Most A&E doctors are still in the position of having to phone the GP or ask for records to be faxed over, and data-sharing beyond urgent care is still under-developed.’