Patients who request an audit report of their medical record may notice entries showing activity during the evening, overnight, or in the early hours of the morning. This can understandably raise questions about whether their record has been accessed outside normal Practice opening hours.
In many cases, these timestamps do not indicate that a member of Practice staff has opened or viewed your record.
The NHS relies on secure electronic systems to exchange information between GP practices, hospitals, laboratories, community services and other healthcare organisations. These systems operate 24 hours a day, allowing important clinical information to be transmitted and received at any time.
As a result, your medical record may automatically receive and process information outside normal opening hours, including:
– Laboratory test results
– Hospital letters and clinic correspondence
– Discharge summaries
– Diagnostic reports
– Other clinical communications relating to your care
When this information is transmitted electronically, our clinical system records the date and time it was received and processed. These automated events can appear in audit reports, including during the night, even when no member of staff is actively viewing the record.
In addition, some members of the Practice team may carry out authorised clinical and administrative work outside routine opening hours. Examples can include processing prescription requests, reviewing and filing laboratory results, reviewing clinical correspondence, or completing other patient care-related tasks. Where this occurs, access to records is undertaken for legitimate clinical or operational purposes and in accordance with NHS confidentiality, information governance and data protection requirements.
If you have concerns about a particular audit entry or believe that your record may have been accessed inappropriately, please contact the Practice. We will be happy to review the audit information and provide further explanation where appropriate.