93C3 and 93C2 read codes and the Summary Care Record

Dear DoH

I would like to make further requests under the FOI Act regarding
the Summary Care Record, and in particular the mechanisms that are
involved in uploading - and preventing uploading - of GP summary
data to the SCR.

For the purposes of the Act, the date of your receipt of this
request will be 22nd March 2010.

Please could you kindly provide the following information.

As at 22nd March 2010:

• Please could you confirm that the ONLY requirement to prevent
uploading of GP summary data from the GP-held electronic record to
the Summary Care Record is the continued presence of the read code
"93C3" in that patient's record, irrespective of the circumstances
that resulted in the addition of that code into their record.

• If so, please could you confirm that this solitary requirement
applies uniformly to all the GP systems in use (that is, EMIS
LV/PCS/Web, SystemOne, Vision etc).

• If not, and further input is required to prevent uploading of
data from such records (that is, from patients who have 93C3 in
their records), please could you indicate what else GPs are
required to do (for example, access the individual patient PDS
record and change a flag status) to prevent uploading of such
records. Please could you indicate where the required additional
mechanisms differ - if they do - for any of the different GP
systems in use.

• Please could you confirm what would happen if a GP-held
electronic patient record had (perhaps inadvertently) BOTH read
codes 93C3 and 93C2 present. Would uploading to the SCR occur in
that situation? Would uploading depend on the relevant date order
of the individual codes?

• Please could you confirm that patients who have "opted out" some
while ago, e.g. in 2006, and whose GP-held electronic records
therefore already contain the read code 93C3, are:

a) NOT obliged to re-register their opt out once roll-out commences
in their PCT area

b) NOT obliged to re-register their opt out with their GP surgery
once their surgery decides to engage with the SCR programme

b) NOT obliged to re-register their opt out using ONLY the
"official" CfH opt out form

because of an assumption that their previous opt-out is no longer
valid.

As per Section 4a of Part 1 of the FOI Act
(
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukp...
) I would like the information in question held at the time when my
request is received (draft or otherwise), except that account may
be taken of any amendment or deletion made between now and the
latest time by which the information is to be communicated to me,
being an amendment or deletion that would have been made regardless
of the receipt of my request.

I would be grateful if you would be kind enough to send me the
requested information promptly and in any event not later than the
twentieth working day following the date of receipt of my request -
that is by then end of the working day of 21st April.

If my request is denied in whole or in part, or specific items
within the responses are withheld from disclosure, then you must
justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the
act, as per Section 17 of the Act
(
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukp...
). Where you rely on a qualified exemption to withhold disclosure,
you are obliged to consider the public interest in your decision
and the refusal notice must explain not only which exemption
applies and why, but also the public interest arguments addressed
in reaching the decision.

I wish to receive the information by email; I believe such a
request would be reasonable in these circumstances. As per Section
11 of Part 1 of the FOI Act (
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukp...
) I would be grateful if you would "so far as reasonably
practicable give effect to that preference"; if you determine that
it is not reasonably practicable to comply with this preference
then you are required by law to notify me of the reasons for your
determination.

The “return address” (to which the information that I have
requested be should be sent ) is the email address that this
particular request originates from (i.e. ending in
'@whatdotheyknow.com').

I would be grateful if you would kindly acknowledge receipt of this
request as recommended by the ICO (“It would be good practice to
acknowledge receipt of requests and to refer to the 20 working day
time limit, so that applicants know their request is being dealt
with”).

Thank you once again.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Neil Bhatia