Where does the Hampshire Health Record get its information from?
The Hampshire Health Record gets information from your GP, main hospitals in the Hampshire area and from some care teams based in the community.
What information is available in the Hampshire Health Record from hospitals?
Due to the different ways they work, information from each hospital can vary in content, but in general will include information about the following:
clinical correspondence (letters about your care and treatment),
radiology reports (i.e. x-ray results),
pathology reports (i.e. blood test results),
discharge summaries
outpatient appointment information.
At present clinical information (relating to care or treatment you have received) is included from Southampton, Portsmouth and Winchester Hospitals, but there are plans to include information from other hospitals in the future as well.
What information is available in the Hampshire Health Record from my GP’s clinical system?
Because the Hampshire Health Record provides a detailed record of your care it contains most of the information held in the GP record. The way it is stored is by using a coding scheme (called READ Codes), which enables the data to be easily processed and displayed, whilst ensuring the quality and accuracy of the data is of a suitable level. Using this coding system means that only clinical data is shared and any comments your GP may record for their own use are not shared.
Depending on how much care you have received, the amount of information will vary between patients, but will normally include information about allergies, medication, diagnosis, tests and treatments.
Information relating to sexual health, terminations, abuse and complaints is not included on the Hampshire Health Record.
Who uses the Hampshire Health Record?
The Hampshire Health Record has benefits for nearly all clinicians within the local NHS and is used by a variety of people from hospital doctors and pharmacists, to community nurses; podiatrists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists, as well as your GP.
Having access to this record allows clinicians to have a much wider view of information than they might otherwise have to hand, which in turn is beneficial to you when they provide your regular health care.
In situations where clinician may not have any history of your previous treatments, for example in Accident & Emergency, access to information about allergies, diagnosis and medication can provide vital details that will help them give you the best care and advice possible.
Will this affect the care I normally receive at my GP practice? Will it add to my doctor’s workload or increase costs?
The Hampshire Health Record has been designed to ensure that providing information does not affect existing services at all. Sending data to the record is an automated process that happens overnight, when no treatment is being provided, and therefore does not change the care you would normally receive. Having data on the Hampshire Health Record may improve the care you receive by providing access to additional information.
Submitting data to the Hampshire Health Record does not cost your practice anything. The costs associated with the record are paid for by a central Hampshire group, specifically responsible for the record and its maintenance. This group, in turn, receives funding from the various hospitals and care providers within Hampshire.
What can I do if I do not want my records shared?
You can request a copy of your record to check what information is shared about you. To do this contact the Hampshire Health Record Operational Team. You will be expected to provide prove of identity and place of residence.
If you do not want to have your information shared, called ‘Opting Out’, you only need to complete a short form and send it to your GP's surgery or directly to the Hampshire Health Record Operational Team. The form can be found on this website using the link go to 'how to withold your record'
Once you have Opted Out your record is completely deleted from the Hampshire Health Record, although the original record in the hospital or your GP's surgery remains.
If, at a later date, you decide that you do wish to have a shared record in Hampshire, or you wish to ensure that your information is available, then you would complete a short form and send this to your GP surgery or directly to the Hampshire Health Record Operational Team.
In either case, we will ensure that your request is carried out as soon as possible.
What do I do next?
If you want more information please contact the HHR Operations Team,
Telephone: 0300 123 1519
email info@hantshealthrecord.nhs.uk
Postal Address:
NHS Southampton HQ
Hampshire Health Record
Oakley Road
Southampton
SO16 4GX