Last week I was lucky enough to attend a Who Sees What discussion event run by an older people’s forum in the North West. One of the most interesting points to come out of the discussion was fears about the accuracy of records. One member of the group quite rightly suggested that if electronic records are shared between different surgeries and hospitals then the impact of a mistake on your record will be much greater.

Reassuringly, though, an announcement this week suggests that it will soon be much easier for patients to get mistakes fixed. New guidance from the Department of Health, prompted by comments from Patient Information watchdog the NIGB,  suggests that patients will now be able to request directly from their doctor, instead of having to go through a formal complaints procedure.  This is a big advance on the situation just a few years ago when a woman wrongly described as an alcholic had to have a specific act of parliament to have the information stricken from her record.

At the moment, only a tiny number of people request changes to their record. However, as more and more patients are able to view their records we are much more likely to spot errors and want them changed. Having a straightforward system for correcting errors is therefore vital.