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The National Health Service (General Medical Services) Amendment (No. 4) Regulations 2000
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| Made | 5th September 2000 | ||
| Laid before Parliament | 6th September 2000 | ||
| Coming into force | 1st October 2000 |
The Secretary of State for Health, in exercise of powers conferred on him by sections 29 and 126(4) of the National Health Service Act 1977[1] and of all powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations -
Citation, commencement, interpretation and extent
1. - (1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Amendment (No. 4) Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 1st October 2000.
(2) In these Regulations "the 1992 Regulations" means the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992[2].
(3) These Regulations apply to England only.
Amendment of the 1992 Regulations
2.
(a) In Schedule 2 to the 1992 Regulations (terms of service), for paragraph 36 there shall be substituted the following paragraph -
" Records
36.
- (1) In this paragraph, "computerised records," means
records created by way of entries on a
computer.
(2) A doctor shall keep
adequate records of the illnesses and treatment of his patients, and
shall do so -
(b) subject to sub-paragraphs (3) and (4), by way of computerised records,
or in a combination of those two
ways.
(3) Where a doctor proposes to keep
computerised records, he shall first obtain the written consent of the
Health Authority.
(4) The Health
Authority shall consent to a doctor's application to keep computerised
records if it is satisfied that -
(a) the computer system upon which he proposes to keep them has
been accredited by the Secretary of State or another person on his
behalf in accordance with "General Medical Practice Computer
Systems - Requirements for
Accreditation - RFA99"[3];
(b)
the security measures and the audit function incorporated into the
computer system as accredited in accordance with sub-paragraph (a)
have been enabled; and
(c) the doctor is aware of, and has
signed an undertaking, that he will have regard to the guidelines
contained in "Good Practice Guidelines for General Practice Electronic
Patient Records"[4],
and the Health Authority may withdraw its consent if it ceases to be
so satisfied.
(5) Where a doctor keeps
computerised records he shall, as soon as possible following a request
from the Health Authority, allow the Health Authority access to the
information recorded on his computer system by means of the audit
function referred to in paragraph
(4)(b).
(6) A doctor shall send the
records relating to a patient to the Health
Authority -
(a) as soon as possible, at the request of the Health Authority;
or
(b) where a person on his list dies, before the end of the
period of 14 days beginning with the date on which he was informed by
the Health Authority of the death, or (in any other case) before the
end of the period of one month beginning with the date on which he
learned of the death.
(7) To the extent that a patient's records
are computerised records, a doctor complies with sub-paragraph (6) if he
sends to the Health Authority a copy of those
records -
(a) in written form; or
(b) with the written consent of the
Health Authority, in any other form.
(8) The Health Authority shall consent to the
transmission of information other than in written form for the purposes
of paragraph (7)(b) if it is satisfied with the following
matter -
(a) the doctor's proposals as to how the record will be
transmitted;
(b) the doctor's proposals as to the format of the
transmitted record;
(c) how the doctor will ensure that the
record received by the Health Authority is identical to that
transmitted; and
(d) how a written copy of the record can be
produced by the Health Authority,
and the Health Authority may withdraw its consent if it ceases to be
satisfied as to any of the above
matters.
(9) Where a doctor keeps
computerised records he shall not disable, or attempt to disable, either
the security measures or the audit function referred to in paragraph
(4)(b).".