NEWS Manager Practice


behaviour by patients or their family members – be it on the premises or online via social media or other digital means? This issue’s profile (page 10)


is of an innovative Edinburgh practice first set up as an NHS “squat” by a young dentist and her even younger sister acting as practice manager. Southside Dental Care recently won Practice of the Year at the 2017 Scottish Dental Awards, and on a recent visit Jim Killgore discovered why. Our regular Call log on page 4


JOURNALISTS, politicians and the like often enjoy bandying about acronyms like passwords to some exclusive club. A new one now gaining currency is GDPR. No doubt many practice managers will now or soon know this stands for General Data Protection Regulation. This is an overhaul of European data protection law which comes into effect on 25 May 2018. Practices are being advised to start taking preparatory steps now as the changes will require time and effort to ensure compliance. On page 12 of this issue MDDUS risk adviser Lindsey Falconer offers advice on the HR implications of the new regulations. On page 8 Daniel Kirk of the


law firm Capsticks addresses practice security. Are you confident about your practice’s ability to protect staff from stalking and other aggressive


COVER PHOTOGRAPH: SHANNON TOFTS MDDUS RISK BITES


EDITORS: Scott Obrzud Helen Ormiston


ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Jim Killgore Joanne Curran


DESIGN: Connect Communications www.connectmedia.cc


PRINT: 21 Colour www.21colour.co.uk


CORRESPONDENCE: PM Editor MDDUS Mackintosh House 120 Blythswood Street Glasgow G2 4EA


t: 0333 043 4444 e: PM@mddus.com w: www.mddus.com


WANT to learn more about how to handle a: • • •


complaint


significant event review negligence claim


• GMC investigation?


Tune in to the MDDUS Risk Bites podcast series. Each 20-minute episode offers a fascinating insight into the different ways two practices handle the case of Mrs Roberts, a 51-year-old patient diagnosed with breast cancer. Learn how to minimise risk across


key areas in your everyday practice and explore the latest advice and guidance with our expert risk team. Find the podcasts at


www.mddus.com in the Resources section.


Practice Manager is published by The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, Registered in Scotland No 5093 at Mackintosh House, 120 Blythswood Street, Glasgow G2 4EA. The MDDUS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MDDUS are discretionary as set out in the Articles of Association. The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors in Practice Manager are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland.


covers a range of queries as handled by our advisory team from a patient request to amend “inaccurate” records, to GPs offering medical advice to patients holidaying abroad, to HCAs carrying out flu jabs. The Risk column on page 6 offers a reminder of the potentially serious consequences of prying into patients’ medical records without legitimate cause, and on page 7 Janice Sibbald discusses the implications of a landmark employment law case which established that voluntary overtime must be included in determining holiday pay.


And finally our case study on


page 14 concerns an HRT prescribing error that led to patient concern over an increased cancer risk.


 Helen Ormiston Editor


TEXT MESSAGING USEFUL


BUT HAS RISKS A STUDY of UK GPs has found that 38 per cent now use texting to communicate with patients. An article published in the British Journal of General Practice


reported on a telephone survey of 389 GPs to ascertain the prevalence of text messaging. This was followed by longer surveys with selected GPs who use text messaging and those who do not, and a patient satisfaction survey. Time management was identified as the key advantage among the


80 per cent of GPs who used texting, and confidentiality was reported as the principal concern among the 69 per cent of GPs who did not. Most patients (99 per cent) were happy to receive text messages from their GP. Data extracted from the IT systems of five consenting practices


revealed that the number of text messages sent during the period from January 2013 to March 2016 increased by 40 per cent per annum. Responding to the findings, Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair


of the Royal College of GPs, commented: “We recognise the potential security limitations of texting, especially to people who share their phones, and GP practices will only send text messages to patients if they have given us permission to communicate with them in this way. In the main, we find our patients welcome this approach.”


AUTUMN 2017  ISSUE 17


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