Wibblypig

Is it really necessary to have a copy of your medical notes/history?!

As my GP wants to charge us a ridiculous amount for each set!

Thanks

Vicki

BubbleChog

My GP in England was very good and did me the whole set for 10 pounds. I then managed to leave them with my other important docs with a friend. duh!!

My new american doctor said all he really needed was the Vaccine history and the results of my last smear test but he did appreciate all the full histiry in my notes, especially as I have some complex conditions

Lx

ljaw2002uk

Under the FOI act they are allowed to charge you a "reasonable administration fee" for copies of any information held about you. Anything over what is considered reasonable can be referred to the Information Comissioner. I would ask them if they consider their charge to be reasonable and legal under FIO legislation.

RayM

What sort of cost have you been told? I'm seeing my Doc on Friday for a check-up and was going to ask him for a copy of my records. I probably need mine as I have T2 Diabetes.

Mummy in the foothills

My US doctors didn't want anything, just for me to fill out a history and mark off anything I've had or have.
Every time you see a new doctor they have you fill out a quick history, no one seems to communicate anything.
Save your money, just get your vaccination card.

Wibblypig

Thanks everyone I will risk and save our money and just get a vaccine certificate for each child as they will need those for school!

Ray my GP charge a minimum of £50 per person depending on how in depth the history is, so it would be £250 as there are 5 of us!! Non of us have anything long term, just the odd one off things, could probably put us all on one A4 sheet! lol

Vicki

Bob

Your doc is taking the mick...reasonable charge would be £15-25 depending on how much is in there.

My old doc charged me £25 to send my records to my doc in the US, or £5 if my mother wanted to pick it up and send it, which was reasonable as it was a brick.

As others have said though, docs over here don't really care all that much as they'll do a whole work up anyway. Handy though for any long term illnesses or if you've had operations for anything, but other wise I wouldn't bother.

Titre test for vaccination record will probably be worth getting though and if the TB jab has been a while, worth getting a top up while it's free

penguinsix

Your doc is playing you a bit. Those prices almost say "I don't want to do it"

Before you decide not to do it, I might make just one suggestion. While it is true you are going to get a complete workup done when you are here, and that your US doctor probably won't care too much about what is in there, in another 20-30 years when things start to change, these records will have some value in that they will be able to show a 'healthy baseline' for you vs. your condition in 20-30 years. If some score is high in 20-30 years and they are worried, it's kind of nice to know whether you really do have an increase in something bad, or whether you have always had a high level of such and such, even when you are healthy.

I was shocked when I got a complete set of records for my 2 year old. It was probably 60 pages long. He had never had even a cold, but every single test, record, score, etc. was in there and is now part of our file with the new doctor.

So if you are certain you could get these records later in life, that I wouldn't worry that much about getting them just now. But if you want to have a complete set of your files, now's probably as good a time as any to start it.

GeoffM

Ask your PCT - here in Swindon FOIA requests go through the PCT anyway so they might be more inclined to charge you a sensible amount. Going via the PCT means they do all the collating for you, be it your GP, hospital records, or whatever.

At least that's the theory.

Wibblypig

Thanks Geoff I was thinking of contacting them, will do it tomorrow as currently having house packed up and put into storage!!! Glad the removal company are packing it LOL

Ozzidoc

The notes need to be manually checked and redacted if necessary. eg if other peoples' results etc are referred to in your notes. (eg A letter or communication might have come from somewhere/someone/an organisation writing about a lot of patients all at once....not usually good practice and old style.)

Such summarizing/redacting takes time.

I recommend that if you are baulking at the price, then ask for a computer printout summary. These are usually 2-3 pages, listing any known diagnoses & operations and current medications. Not sure about past medications.

Best wishes

Bomjeito

1. Providing notes (other than vaccinations) could mean refusal by insurance (here in US) to cover a pre-existing condition. True, with Obamacare, that is supposed to change, but not for some years, if not overturned at some point.

2. US medical providers will STILL re-do EVERY test they need to do anyhow, in order to be covered under malpractice. Even tests like STDs are re-done here, even if you have proof of the results from another country.

At 50 GBP a pop, is it worth it? Even if the docs here don't accept your handwritten account of vaccines, vaccination is covered under insurance here. They may still give you boosters whether you like it or not.

In fact, when I resided in UK, the NHS gave me boosters as they didn't accept my vaccination card from the US.

I'd only pay for the ones that provide such very important information that you need to bring for that family member. Still, the US doctors will do it all over!