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Statutory Instrument 2000 No. 2383
The National Health Service (General Medical
Services) Amendment (No. 4) Regulations 2000
© Crown Copyright 2000
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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
2000 No. 2383
NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE,
ENGLAND
The National Health Service (General Medical
Services) Amendment (No. 4) Regulations 2000
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Made |
5th September 2000 |
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Laid before Parliament |
6th September 2000 |
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Coming into force |
1st October 2000 |
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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 -
(a) on forms supplied to him for the purpose by the Health
Authority; or
(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).".
Signed by the Secretary of State for Health
John
Denham
Minister of State, Department of Health
5th September
2000
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not
part of the Regulations)
These Regulations further
amend the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations
1992 (S.I. 1992/635), which regulate the terms on which General Medical
Services are provided under the National Health Service Act
1977.
The terms of service for doctors contained in Schedule 2 to
those Regulations are amended to enable doctors to keep medical records
relating to their patients either on paper or on computer or both. Where a
doctor wishes to keep records either wholly or partly on computer, he must
first obtain the Health Authority's consent. Where a doctor is required to
send copies of his records to the Health Authority, he may only provide
them other than in written form where the Health Authority has consented.
In each case, the Health Authority will only give its consent where it is
satisfied by the doctor about various matters specified in these
Regulations.
Notes:
[1] 1977 c. 49; see section
128(1) as amended by the National Health Service and Community Care Act
1990 (c. 19) ("the 1990 Act"), section 26(2)(g) and (i), for the
definitions of "prescribed" and "regulations". Section 29 was extended by
the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49), section 17; and amended by the
Health Services Act 1980 (c. 53), sections 1 and 7 and Schedule 1,
paragraph 42(b); by the Health and Social Services and Social Security
Adjudications Act 1983 (c. 41), Schedule 6, paragraph 2; by the Medical
Act 1983 (c. 54), section 56(1) and Schedule 5, paragraph 16(a); by S.I.
1985/39, article 7(3); by the Health Authorities Act 1995 (c. 17),
Schedule 1, paragraph 18; and by the National Health Service (Primary
Care) Act 1997 (c. 46), Schedule 2, paragraph 8. Section 126(4) was
amended by the 1990 Act, section 65(2) and by the Health Act 1999 (c. 8),
Schedule 4, and paragraph 37(6). As regards Wales, the functions of the
Secretary of State under sections 29 and 126(4) of the 1977 Act are
transferred to the National Assembly for Wales under article 2 of, and
Schedule 1 to, the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions)
Order 1999 S.I. 999/672, these Regulations therefore extend only to
England.back
[2] S.I. 1992/635 to which there are amendments not
relevant to these Regulations.back
[3] This was published by the National Health Service
Information Authority in October 1999. Copies may be obtained by writing
to the National Health Service Information Authority, 15 Frederick Road,
Birmingham B15 1JD.back
[4] These guidelines were published by the National
Health Service Executive on 31st August 2000. Copies may be obtained by
writing to PC-GPMS, Room 7E24. Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7UE.back
ISBN 0 11 099877 4
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