Patients medical records will now be open to checking by health workers, who have recently been given the power to take a peek at the records to verify if patients have undergone the required diagnostic tests, especially in cases of severe health conditions such as high BP. This is a move by the Scottish government to spruce up their dwindling health record.
This will certainly give the doctors a clear picture of the patient and help in identifying those in need of immediate tests to diagnose life threatening health problems.Health campaigners are divided about this proposal, as it might tantamount to stepping on the rights of individuals by scanning through their private medical records. To quote the report "We should pursue the creation of an electronic patient record for everyone living in Scotland as a matter of urgency. Using this record will improve our ability to identify all those individuals who need to have blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index and other prognostic factors for chronic ill health examined and identified."
Patient groups are not too happy with the turn of events and Michael Summers, chairman of the Patients Association, said: "The person who knows best about a patient is their own GP, so it does not need someone else going through medical records which are supposed to be confidential
