BCS to develop patient record guidance

Thursday 26th January 2012

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and the Department of Health Informatics Directorate (DHID) have launched a project to develop clear and easy to follow guidance for patients and the public on the subject of health and social care records.

The project will provide patients with advice on how to look after the health and social care records and other sensitive personal data that they are creating or health and social care providers are sharing with them.

The guidance is intended to support the increasing number of patients accessing their records online and those making use of the growing number of online services to store and share personal health and care data.

“We are very excited about this project and we are glad to have the support of the Department of Health Informatics Directorate," said Dr Justin Whatling, Vice Chair for Strategy and Policy for BCS Health.

“In our recent response to the Department of Health's ‘Liberating the NHS, An Information Revolution’, we concluded that to become equal partners in their health care, patients will require greater access and control over their records. 

"We identified the need to develop clear and simple guidance on how to use shared and patient controlled records effectively and securely.”

BCS