Practice Privacy Statement

This Practice wants to ensure the highest standard of medical care for our patients. We understand that a General Practice is a trusted community governed by an ethic of privacy and confidentiality. Our approach is consistent with the Medical Council guidelines and the privacy principles of the Data Protection Regulations. It is not possible to undertake medical care without collecting and processing personal data and data concerning health. In fact, to do so would be in breach of the Medical Council’s ‘Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Doctors’. This statement is to advise you of our policies and practices when dealing with your medical information.

Legal Basis for Processing Your Data

This practice has voluntarily signed up for the ICGP Data Protection Guideline for GPs. The processing of personal data in General Practice is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the patient and for the provision of health care and public health. You can access the guideline at http://www.icgp.ie/data. In most circumstances we hold your data until 8 years after your death or 8 years since your last contact with the Practice. There are exceptions to this rule and these are described in the guideline referenced above.

Managing Your Information

In order to provide for your care, it is necessary for us to collect and keep information about you and your health on our records. 

• We retain your information securely.

• We will only ask for and keep information that is necessary. We will attempt to keep it as accurate and up-to-date as possible. We will explain the need for any information we ask for if you are unsure as to why it is needed.

• We ask you to inform us about any relevant changes that we should know about. This would include such things as any new treatments or investigations being carried out that we are not aware of. Please also inform us of changes of address and phone numbers.

• All persons in the Practice, who are not already covered by a professional confidentiality code, sign a confidentiality agreement that explicitly makes clear their duties in relation to personal health information, other personal information and the consequences of breaching that duty.

• Access to patient records is regulated to ensure that they are used only to the extent necessary to enable the practice receptionists or manager to perform their tasks for the proper functioning of the Practice. In this regard, patients should understand that practice staff may have access to their records for:

▸ Identifying and printing repeat prescriptions for patients. These are then reviewed and signed by the GP.

▸ Generating an illness certificate for the patient. This is then checked and signed by the GP.

▸ Typing referral letters to hospital consultants or allied health professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, dieticians etc.

▸ Opening letters from hospitals and consultants. The letters will then be scanned on to the electronic patient record.

▸ Scanning clinical letters, radiology reports and any other documents not available in electronic format.

▸ Downloading laboratory results and Out of Hours Coop reports and performing integration of these results into the electronic patient record.

▸ Photocopying or printing documents for referral to consultants, attendance at an antenatal clinic or when a patient is changing GP.

▸ Checking for a patient if a hospital or consultant letter has been received or if a laboratory or radiology result has been received, in order to schedule a conversation with the GP or Practice Nurse.

▸ When a patient contacts the Practice, checking if they are due for any preventative or monitoring service, such as vaccination, cervical smear test, contraceptive pill/HRT or blood pressure check, blood tests etc.

▸ Handling, printing, photocopying and postage of medico legal and life assurance reports and of associated documents.

▸ Sending and receiving information via Healthmail and Healthlink, secure clinical email systems.

▸Any other activity related to the support of medical care which is appropriate for practice support staff.

Disclosure of Information to Other Health and Social Care Professionals

We may need to pass some of this information to other health and social care professionals in order to provide you with the treatment and services you need. Only the relevant part of your record will be released. These other professionals are also legally bound to treat your information with the same duty of care and confidentiality that we do.

Disclosures Required or Permitted Under Law

The law provides that in certain instances personal information (including health information) can be disclosed, for example, in the case of infectious disease.

Disclosure of information to Employers, Insurance Companies and Solicitors:

• In general, work related medical certificates from your GP will only provide a confirmation that you are unfit to attend work with an indication of when you will be fit to resume work. Where it is considered necessary to provide additional information we will discuss that with you. However, Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection certificates of incapacity for work must include the medical reason you are unfit to work.

• In the case of disclosures to insurance companies or requests made by solicitors for your records, we will only release the information with your signed, specific and fully informed consent.

Use of Information for Training, Teaching and Quality Assurance

It is usual for GPs to discuss patient case histories as part of their continuing medical education or for the purpose of training medical students. In these situations, the identity of the patient concerned will not be revealed.

In other situations, however, it may be beneficial for other doctors within the Practice to be aware of patients with particular conditions and in such cases this Practice would only communicate the information necessary to provide the highest level of care to the patient.

Our Practice is involved in the tutoring of medical students and is attached to the Trinity School of Medicine undergraduate teaching programme.  As part of this programme, medical students will attend the practice from time to time and may be present when you attend the Practice.  We will advise you of their presence and seek your explicit expressed permission for them to be present as an observer during your consultation with the GP or Practice Nurse.  It is entirely your choice as to whether you give your permission and your decision will be respected.  All medical students who attend the Practice sign a confidentiality agreement as outlined in the section ‘Managing Your Information’.

Use of Information for Research and Audit

It is usual for patient information to be used for research and audit in order to improve services and standards of practice. GPs on the specialist register of the Medical Council are required to perform yearly clinical audits. Information used for such purposes is carried out in an anonymised or pseudonymised manner with all personal identifying information removed.

If it were proposed to use your information in a way where it would not be anonymous or the Practice was involved in external research we would discuss this further with you before we would proceed and seek your written informed consent. Please remember that the quality of the patient service provided can only be maintained and improved by training, teaching, audit and research.

Your Right of Access to Your Health Information

You have the right of access to all the personal information held about you by this Practice. If you wish to see your records, in most cases the quickest way is to discuss this with your doctor who will review the information in the record with you. You can make a formal written access request to the Practice and receive a copy of your medical records. These will be provided to you within thirty days.

To download a Medical Records Request Form, please click here

Transferring to Another Practice

If you decide at any time and for whatever reason to transfer to another Practice we will facilitate that decision by making available to your new doctor, a copy of your records on receipt of your signed consent on the letterhead of your new doctor. For medico-legal reasons we will also retain a copy of your records in this Practice for an appropriate period of time which may exceed eight years.

Other Rights

You have other rights under data protection regulations in relation to transfer of data to a third country (outside EU), the right to rectification or erasure, restriction of processing, objection to processing and data portability. Further information on these rights in the context of General Practice is described in the guideline available at http://www.icgp.ie/data. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commissioner.

Questions

We hope the aforementioned has explained any issues that may arise. If you have any questions, please speak to the practice receptionist or your doctor.