NOTICE BOARD


formed a company for accounting or other purposes, the relevant figure is the gross income to that company in relation to your practice of medicine. At the heart of the principle of mutuality


is the fact that all members should contribute an appropriate amount to the common fund that is held on behalf of all members. This is an important principle and we do carry out checks of gross private practice earnings from time to time to ensure that it is being complied with. If you have any questions please


telephone our Membership Department on 0845 270 2038.


New training courses at MDDUS


Patient requests to alter medical records PATIENTS have never been more informed as they are today on health


matters – this thanks to the almost limitless information now instantly accessible within a few clicks on an internet browser. Just how helpful this is to doctors and other healthcare professionals is perhaps debateable. Combine this with changing attitudes to healthcare – rising consumerism, a less paternalistic approach to treating patients – and it is only inevitable that doctors and dentists are finding aspects of their practice increasingly questioned in some cases. The Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 enshrines the right of access by


A NEW series of the popular MDDUS Hot Topic workshops has been announced for our Glasgow and London offices. MDDUS Training and Consultancy are pleased to offer healthcare professionals a new range of training courses from August 2012 with subjects such as confidentiality and data protection act, GP finance, and managing team conflict. A week-long leadership programme for


doctors with management responsibilities, entitled Leading Through Uncertainty, will also take place in Glasgow from October 29 to November 2, 2012. More information is available in the


Training and Consultancy section of the MDDUS website at www.mddus.com or, alternatively, contact course administrator Ann Fitzpatrick on 0845 270 2034 or afitzpatrick@mddus.com


patients to any personal information held by a practice or healthcare body. An individual can send a subject access request requiring a data holder to disclose what personal information is held and also to provide a copy of that information. Patients also have the right to request amendments to their records. These can include correcting simple errors or redacting sensitive details or may involve more fundamental conflicts over clinical content. MDDUS deals with a growing number of advice calls to do with subject access requests under the Data Protection Act 1998. It should be made very clear to practice staff that relevant emails, text messages or other notes could someday be seen by a patient or carer and possibly challenged. Notes in records should be neutral and non-judgemental. But this is not to say that the inclusion or not of valid clinical opinions should be subject to debate. Department of Health guidance states: “The DPA fourth principle requires that information should be accurate and kept up-to- date. This provides the legal basis for enforcing correction of factual inaccuracies. An opinion or judgement recorded by a health professional, whether accurate or not, should not be deleted. Retaining relevant information is essential for understanding the clinical decisions that were made and to audit the quality of care.” The guidance goes on to recommend that in any disagreement over the


accuracy of an entry the patient should be allowed to include a statement within the record to the effect that they disagree with the content. The patient should be further advised that if they are unhappy with this outcome they can make a complaint through NHS Complaints procedures or the Information Commissioner’s Office. In cases where both parties agree that information is factually inaccurate


the record should be amended but ensuring that the original information is still legible along with an explanation of why the record has been altered. In hard copy records, text to be amended should be scored out with a single line and the correct entry written alongside. Amendments should be clear and legible and should include time, date and a signature of the individual making the change. Computer records should also allow for an audit trail identifying the date and time of any change and the person responsible. Transparency is an oft-used word these days but in the case of healthcare


records it is the best way of getting at the truth in a potential dispute arising weeks, months and perhaps even years later.


l CHECK OUT OTHER MDDUS PUBLICATIONS Maybe four Summonsa year is enough for any healthcare professional. But MDDUS publishes another four biannual


SUMMER 2012


magazines as well as


two monthly e- newsletters with news, profiles and other


features covering not just medico or dento-legal topics. Go to the


Publications page at mdddus.com to see digital versions. To subscribe to the MDDUS eMonthly, contact


jkillgore@mddus.com l BROWSE MDDUS CASE STUDIES ONLINE Over 100 MDDUS medical and dental case


studies drawn from our case files and covering a broad range of topics can now be browsed in the Resource Library at www.mddus.com. Cases are organised by topic area and have been anonymised to protect confidentiality.


5


ISSUE 05


AND BONES


FORMER DENTIST ALAN OGDEN ON BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE


ALSO INSIDE 08 SPECIAL CARE A UNIQUE CAREER 10 BE PROACTIVE COMPLAINTS HANDLING


AN MDDUS PUBLICATION


SKILL


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24