DOCTORS and nurses treating Silhillians will now be able to see their GP record as part of a scheme to improve patient care.
With the patient’s permission, healthcare professionals at Heartlands hospitals will be able to see a patient’s GP record to help cut waiting times, reduce unnecessary duplication of tests, and potentially save lives.
Your Care Connected scheme will be rolled out in hospitals across the borough and Birmingham over the course of this year, and will also be made available to Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, West Midlands Ambulance service, out of hours GP services and every GP practice.
This means up to 1.8 million registered patients across the area will benefit could benefit from a better-connected NHS.
Dr Masood Nazir, a local GP and Chief Clinical Information Officer for Your Care Connected, said: “As a local GP, it makes absolute sense to me that my patients’ medical information should be shared real-time where relevant, appropriate and with their consent, to directly improve the care they receive whilst visiting a hospital.
“By giving local clinical colleagues the information they need when they need it most, we can all work together to provide better, safer care for our patients.”
Your Care Connected will also reduce a lot of unnecessary paperwork, which will see staff spending less time filling in forms or waiting for patient records to be sent across – freeing up time to focus on caring for the patient.
Patients at participating practices will receive a letter about Your Care Connected soon, including details on how much of their information will be shared and with whom.
Patients who wish to take part do not need to do anything, as their record will automatically become available if they visit one of the participating hospitals or NHS services, for either a booked appointment or in an emergency.
And as long as they give their permission during the visit, the person treating them will be able to view their record.
If a patient decides they do not wish to have their information shared through Your Care Connected, they can ‘opt-out’ by visiting their practice, or by returning the form included with the letter.
This means their record will not be available to anyone other than their usual GP, even in an emergency.
Visit www.midlandsyourcareconnected.nhs.uk/ for more information about the scheme.
