Hospital records - Radiotherapy scans cause some head scratching at the hospital.

Osca2023 5 months ago

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I asked for all of my hospital records some while before Christmas and have receive most of them. Some by hard copy and some via a secure link to download from the Trust servers. Yes hard copy, these are not digitised yet by my hospital trust!

However the scans done prior to and during my RT were not included. They readily admitted that these had been missed and would look into obtaining them for me. Now it seems that they don't have a process to supply such large scans / files to patients and are looking into a method of doing it for me.

I didn't need any of the records for a specific reason, it was just that I believe such things should be totally transparent and visible to the patient. I believe all such files must be made available to the patient in a machine readable format, GDPR rules.

My question is. Has anyone else ever requested and received records/copies of such scans?

Grundo 5 months ago

Hi Oscar

I always asked for copies of scans etc. cost about £10

Came on a CD so easy to see and then when I went for second opinions privately took the disc with me.

Steve

Osca2023 5 months ago in reply to Grundo

That is the suggestion that I have made to them or alternatively on a USB device.

Osca2023 4 months ago

I did eventually receive a secure USB pen drive a couple of weeks ago with what purported to have the scans that were performed during my RT treatment saved on it.
However when I look at them and the file data option on each one using the standalone DICOM viewer for Windows that I was able to find on line I see that none of these scans have either the patient identity or date performed recorded with them. I have complained indicating that there is no proof that these are my scans and certainly no way of working out when each file was recorded as they all have the date that they were saved on the pen drive.

The records department are looking into this.

Are all hospitals so shambolic?

Safeways 4 months ago

How far back do your records go?

Osca2023 4 months ago in reply to Safeways

These particular scan records should have begun with my CT Scan on the 7th June 2024 and ended with my last RT session on the 14th August 2024.
I have received my previous records in digital and hardcopy format late last year.

What I cannot understand is why the UK medical profession are so secretive with these records, many European countries give out all test results and scans/x-rays automatically.

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Hospital records - Radiotherapy scans cause some head scratching at the hospital.