GP fears put electronic records plan in jeopardy
GPs are worried about patient consent and accuracy in electronic
records |
Plans to introduce a national electronic patient care record are in jeopardy after GPs declared they have no confidence that it will improve patient care and warned they will boycott the initiative unless the Government addresses their concerns.
The rebellion comes as pharmacists in England wait to hear from the Department
of Health about when they will be consulted on access to the proposed
patient care record.
Lindsay McClure, head of information services, Pharmaceutical Services
Negotiating Committee, said: “If GPs don’t co-operate with
the patient care record then it’s going to be pointless since they
will be the main source of clinical information. We share their concerns
and are looking to have a discussion with the British Medical Association
about this.”
GPs passed a vote of no confidence in proposals for the patient care
record at the UK-wide annual local medical committees conference held
in London on 18 June. They agreed not to co-operate with the scheme until
their worries were addressed by ministers.
They want assurances that the IT system will guarantee accurate transfer
of data and that there will be adequate patient consent procedures in
place.
GPs also want to know who is legally responsible for any mistakes in
the record if there are problems with data transfer and also who is legally
responsible for the transfer of information to the shared record.
A clear process for updating information on the record, and who is responsible
for that, also needs to be agreed, they said.
South London GP Paul Cundy, chairman of the BMA’s IT committee
for GPs
said: “Without data from GPs the care record is dead in the water.”
GPs do not oppose the principle of a patient care record shared by other
health professionals but they need to be persuaded that the proposed
system is safe and that everybody understands how it works, he said.
Dr Cundy added: “We aren’t throwing the toys out of the pram — what
we are saying is that the toys need to have their rough edges taken off
them before they are safe.”
Lindsay McClure added: “We support robust access to the records
but we are still waiting to hear from the Department of Health what information
we will have access to and what our role is going to be.” |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader