This practice needs information about you so that you can receive the best possible care and treatment. It is needed for continuity of care, and may be shared with other care organisations.
We may need to use some of this information, for example:
- To help protect the health of the public generally – we are required by law to notify the government of certain diseases, eg meningitis or measles, but not AIDS.
- Planning for the future – this includes sending information to Health Authorities and the Department of Health eg breast screening etc.
- Training staff
- Paying bills to doctors, dentists, nurses, hospitals etc.
- Auditing accounts
- To carry out other health research by use of statistics (your personal details will be non-identifiable) eg waiting list information
- Investigating complaints or legal claims – your information will need to be accompanied by your written consent before being passed on to solicitors etc.*
- Sometimes the law requires us to pass on information eg to notify a birth or death.
- When you sign to give permission for your representative (solicitor etc) to access your records, please be aware that this gives consent for that person to access the WHOLE of your medical record, when you may only intend that they should have access to the part of it that is relevant to your needs. Your records may contain information that you would rather withhold from such representation. You may wish to stipulate to which part/s of the record they may have access.
