Manchester patients see own records
April 2007
Tameside and Glossop
PCT has set up its own
local care records board,
following a successful
pilot project in which GPs
have offered their patients
full Internet access to
their own medical records.
Access to GPs’ records
is provided free of charge
by a website called PAERS
which links to practices’
EMIS databases. It is
being promoted by a GP
enthusiast, Dr Amir
Hannan, who described
the success of the PAERS
scheme at the HC2007
Conference last month.
The benefits of the system,
he said, were improved
trust between patient
and clinician; better
quality consultations; a
more accurate medical
record; and, for patients,
a better understanding
of their health.
In its six months’
existence, the PCT’s local
records board has developed
a set of rules for
accessing the records,
dealing with difficult topics
like parents’ access to
their children’s records and
the rights of people caring
for their elderly relatives.
Chaired by Mike Leigh,
one of the Trust’s nonexecutive
directors, the
board is also debating
how to share information
with the independentsector
providers that are
currently bidding for
NHS contracts in the
Manchester area.
Hannan sits on the
board of NHS Connecting
for Health’s own nascent
patient-access scheme,
Healthspace. He believes
that full patient access, as
provided in the Tameside
PAERS scheme, can
coexist with Healthspace.
“There will be two options
for patients: the minimum
data set provided by
CfH’s summary record,
and the full record for
those who want it”, he
said.
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