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Data Protection Notice
Patients of Leeds Student Medical Practice should be aware that we store your data on computer
- In certain circumstances non-medical personnel in the practice as part of their administrative work view this data. Our personnel are trained in the principles of confidentiality. They all sign a legal contract agreeing to maintain confidentiality
- Data is given to Leeds Health Authority to enable financial claims and to Child Health to maintain their vaccination and developmental check records. Personnel there are bound by the same principles of confidentiality
- Data may be provided to secondary care providers (consultants, hospital departments) during the referral process, and to tertiary care providers (social services). Your approval will be obtained before this data is provided
- Data stored on the computer is used for audit, statistics, research, and planning. If someone outside the practice requires it, we provide data in an anonymised format, or seek your permission before disclosure of identifiable data
- For medico-legal purposes we retain your data after you leave this practice
- The practice has appointed a Caldicott guardian who ensures confidentiality is maintained, and that all data is stored safely using security procedures to limit access
The Data Protection Act covers certain issues relating to health records and medical professionals. The main issues are covered below
Health record access
A health record is any record of information relating to someone's physical or mental health that has been made by (or on behalf of) a health professional. This could be anything from the notes made by a GP in your local surgery to results of an MRI scan or X-rays
Health records are extremely personal and sensitive. They can be held electronically or as paper files, and are kept by a range of different health professionals both in the NHS and the private sector
For the purpose of the Data Protection Act, a registered health professional can be one of the following people:
- A medical practitioner - this could be a GP, consultant or hospital doctor
- A dentist
- An optician
- A pharmaceutical chemist
- A nurse, midwife or health visitor
- An osteopath
- A chiropractor
- A clinical psychologist, child psychotherapist or speech therapist
- A music therapist
- A scientist employed by a health service body as head of department
- Anyone registered as a member of a profession to which the Health Professionals Order 2001
How can you obtain your records?
The Data Protection Act gives you the right to see your health records
To do so, contact us clearly describing the information you want. If the records are held on computer, you can be charged up to £10. If the records are manual or a mixture of manual and computer records, you can be charged up to £50
Further information is available on the Department of Health web site
Source: LSMP
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