A statutory instrument which came into force October 1st 2000 put in place a legal requirement for HA to approve GP practices use of electronic records.

This amendment to a part of our terms of service makes the use of electronic records legitimate as long as you follow good practice and get approval for your electronic records from the health authority. There is no compulsion in the process unless you propose to keep part of your GP medical records in purely electronic form.

Good Practice Guidelines for General Practice Electronic Patient Records were produced by the DOH in consultation with the Joint Computing group of the GPC and RCGP.

The guidelines are considered under the following headings:
         *  Hardware Requirements
         *  Electronic Record Requirements
         *  Maintaining Security
         *  Medical Confidentiality
         *  Training and Other Resource Requirements
         *  Regulatory Requirements