Register for Online Services

Understanding your Records

Your records are written to help medical people look after you and so in some cases, you may not understand everything you see. If you find anything difficult to understand, as well as talking to your doctor or nurse, you can go to NHS Choices

NHS choices is the NHS website for patients so you can look for information on illnesses, improving health and to find NHS services in your local area.

Other website frequently used to search information on illnesses and test results are:

• Patient Access Symptom Checker
• Lab Tests Online

Although these are not owned or checked by the NHS, other patients have found them useful.

A few things to think about

There are a few things you need to think about before registering for online records. On very rare occasions:

• Your GP may not think it is in your best interest for you to look at your GP record online. If this happens, your GP will discuss their reasons with you. It is up to your GP to decide if you should be allowed access to your online records.
• You may see your test results before your doctor has spoken to you about them. This may be when you cannot contact your surgery, or when your surgery is closed. This means you will need to wait until an appointment is available to talk to your doctor.
• Information in your medical records might need correcting. If you find something you think is not correct, you should contact the surgery. Please bear in mind that you cannot change the record yourself.
• There may be information in your medical records tht you did not know was there or that you had forgotten about, such as an illness or an upsetting incident. If you see anything you did not know about that worries you, please speak to the surgery and they will discuss this with you.
• If you see someone else's information in your record, please log out immediately and let your surgery know as soon as possible.

If you have questions about the above points, please talk to your surgery and they will be able to advise further.