Your Personal Health Information
To provide you with the care you need, we hold the details of your consultation, illnesses, tests, prescriptions and other treatments that have been recorded by all the practice team involved in your care and treatment eg doctors, health visitors, practice nurses, health care assistants. This information may be stored on paper or electronically on computer files using fully accredited data information systems approved and provided by NHS Tayside.
We sometime disclose some of your personal health information with other organisations involved in your care. For example, when your doctor refers you to a specialist at the hospital we will send relevant details about you in the referral letter & receive information about you from them. Our practice also participates in regional & national programmes, such as the cervical cytology screening service and your name, address, date of birth and health number will be given to then in order to send an appointment to you.
We need to use some of your personal health information for administrative purposes. In order to receive payment for services provided to you, we have to disclose basic details about you to the NHS Board responsible for this area and to the Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service. These organisations have a role in protecting public funds, and are authorised to check that payments are being properly made. We are require to co-operate with these checks and the disclosure of your data is a necessary part of our provision of healthcare services.
Sometimes, we may participate in studies that are designed to improve the way services are provided to you or to check that our performance meets required standards and benchmarks. Whenever we take part in activities such as these, we will ensure that as far as possible any details that may identify you are not disclosed.
We are sometimes involved in health research and the teaching of student nurses, doctors and other health professionals. We will not use or disclose your personal health information for these purposes unless you have been informed beforehand and given your consent for us to do so.
Where you need a service jointly provided with local authority we would seek your permission before giving them your details.
Sometimes we are required by law to pass on information eg the notifications of births, deaths and certain diseases or crimes to the relative government department or police which is a legal requirement.
Our use of your personal information is covered by a duty of confidentiality and is regulated by the Data Protection Act. The Data Protection Act gives you a number of rights in relation to how your personal information is used, including a right to access the information we hold about you.
Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential and adheres to a Code of Practice on protecting patient confidentiality. Further information on this can be found at www.nhsis.co.uk/confidentiality. Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep in confidential.
If you have any queries or concerns on how we use your personal health information, please contact out practice manager.
Violent or Abusive Patients
In order to protect our staff and the general public our practice has a zero tolerance policy towards any form of abusive or aggressive behaviour or physical violence. Any patient considered by our doctors to have breached this policy will be removed from the practice list.
Freedom of Information
The ICO has published a new Model Publication Scheme that all public authorities are required to adopt.
A copy of the practice publication is available from the Practice Manager.