If you are not using a form, be sure to include the full name, address, phone number, and secure fax or secure email address where the provider can send you the records.
Health and care organisations make every effort to keep your records accurate. However, occasionally information may need to be amended about you or your care. If you think that the health or care information in your records is factually inaccurate, you have a legal right to ask for your records to be amended.
This could be a clinical letter, a consultation or a simple coded entry. These incidents should be immediately reported to the surgery who will remove the incorrect entry and ensure the problem is rectified. This cannot be actioned by reception staff and must be completed by a member of the management team.
In general medical records are retained for eight years from data of discharge or end of care but some may be kept longer than that e.g. if there has been a serious incident. For a child the record will be kept until the 25th or 26th birthday depending on age when discharged / last seen.
The best course of action is to contact the practice as soon as an error is identified to help prevent problems occurring or worsening later. Who has made the error? If you can speak directly to the clinician who has made the error then they can correct the error themselves.
Here is a suggested letter you can employ. I would like to make an application to see my medical records under the Data Protection Act 1998 (living patients). I wish to inspect the records made during the period (approximate date) to (approximate date).
You have the right to request that we erase personal data about you that we hold. This is not an absolute right, and depending on the legal basis that applies, we may have overriding legitimate grounds to continue to process the data.
To obtain a copy of your hospital records you will need to apply in writing to the hospital's records manager at the hospital where you received your treatment. Links to the various NHS hospital trusts: NHS England: NHS Choices website.
To obtain a copy of your hospital records you will need to apply in writing to the hospital's records manager at the hospital where you received your treatment. Links to the various NHS hospital trusts: NHS England: NHS Choices website.
💊 Medical report request letter The letter typically includes the patient's name and date of birth, as well as the dates of service being requested. The letter may also include a release of information form, which the patient must sign in order to authorize the release of their medical records.