Even Patients Can Do IT…
09 July 2012
Cartoon taken from www.mediclicks.net
Yvonne M Bennett
Patient & PPG Secretary
of
Haughton Thornley Medical Centre
… now is that I.T. or ‘it’ The answer is both We use I.T. as a tool to do ‘it’ The ‘it’ – is to manage our own & family health Self care doesn’t mean NO care If we suffer from asthma, drug addiction, cancer
etc We can be educated in managing the condition by
our healthcare professional There are 8760 hours in a year and we need to
look after ourselves and family for 8756 of those
Patient Perspective
Being an active partner in the doctor/patient relationship
A relationship based on trust Having choices Help the clinician to help me by having all
information available to hand NOW Being a Happy Patient! To do all this we need access to our medical
records
Our Practice Websitewww.htmc.co.uk
How do we get access to our records?
What can we do with access?
We can order repeat prescriptions We can check previous medications We can make appointments We can also cancel appointments
We can check results We can check x-ray reports We can read letters We can print anything we think may be of use e.g.
medication list, blood results
Results
Letters
Photographs
A photo showing an operation scar with a possible infection
A photo showing a leg ulcer This can be monitored to see how the scar is
progressing
The Advantages
Doctor/Patient relationship. Take an active role in your own healthcare together with the doctor
On Holiday Seeing a Consultant in a
hospital outside the area Receiving care in the
community Family members living in
another part of the world Emergency Time – repeat prescriptions,
appointments, results, letters,
Disadvantages
Forgotten History Bad News Abnormal Results X-rays 3rd Party Information Might not agree or like with
what’s been written about you
Might be feeling worse than before
Problems being solved Children
parent access until 10years and then discussions between child, parent & GP
Nursing Homes Dr Amir Hannan from Haughton Thornley Medical Centres Dr Benjamin
Brown, Sarah Thew, Professor Iain Buchan from this University
Established a Local Care Records Board To deal with any complaints
“Grey areas” 3rd party data Foreign-speaking patients Learning difficulties / memory problems Coercion in the home / domestic violence
The Accident - 2011Ambulance & A & E visitPre-op assessment & operation8 Visits to Fracture Clinic
8 Letters8 appointments at GPs8+++ telephone calls
Patient = 11hrs for apptts/40 mins telephone Doctor = 8 apt @ £25 = £200 NHS saving Other Patients benefit from 8 extra appointment
Self care – not NO care!
If you are living with a health condition, or just want to learn how to look after yourself better, visit www.htmc.co.uk and look at the self care section. Remember the website is