The
Future of the Care Record Service
Jan 07
Family doctors have long seen themselves as trusted guardians of their
patients’ confidential medical records.
The Department of Health is attempting to develop an
England
wide computer database of health information for about 40 million people
known as the NHSCRS (the NHS Care Record Service).
Each patient
must give explicit consent before personal information on, for instance,
their medication and drug allergies, can be accessed.
There will be rigorous security measures in place to make sure
that notes are not accessed inappropriately.
Patients’ notes will automatically be put on the NHSCRS, unless
the patient informs us that they do not wish this to happen.
Notes will be audited to check that they have not been accessed
without patient consent or contact with that individual patient.
Access will only be allowed with a series of passwords.
Information
included will be the summary of care record including
- repeat
prescriptions active and recent
- acute
prescriptions in the last six months
- suspected
adverse and allergic reactions.
This
information shared across health professionals will improve safety and
enhanced patient care significantly.
If, for instance, you were attend casualty whilst on holiday in
Devon
and could not remember your medication the treating doctor would be able
to access that information with your consent.
There are also advantages for public health care because of the
tremendous advantages of huge amounts of anonymous but aggregated data
that can be used for health planning and public health policy.
Hampshire
have been leading the way in this area, piloting a model that started in
2000. 100,000 leaflets were
sent to households to gauge opinion and of 250,000 people only 12 wrote
letters to say they did not want their records included.
The NHSCRS is
currently under discussion, with the finer details of the system yet to
be finalised.
We wish to bring to your attention that you may opt out of the
NHSCRS if you wish to, by writing to us.
If we do not hear from you, then we will assume that you are
happy for your medical notes to be included on the database.
More
information can be obtained about this on www.thebigoptout.org, or on
the advice line on
01494 882458.
July 06
BETA_BLOCKERS
Many of you will have read
the recent discussions in the popular press about the use of β-blockers.
These are a class of drug that are widely used in the treatment of heart disease
and high blood pressure. Recent research has shown that in the treatment of
blood pressure, for some people, there are more effective medicines than β-blockers.
The doctors at the Wilson
Practice have been aware of the published work on β-blockers for some time.
Many people who would previously have been commenced on β-blockers for high
blood pressure, have been started on different drugs over the past year.
If you are on a β-blocker
for high blood pressure do not panic! The drugs are safe and effective. In those
people who should be on other medicines, we are changing them over at the time
of their routine blood pressure review. Please do not stop your medicine without
discussing your treatment with your doctor or clinic nurse.
Please remember that many
people use β-blockers for reasons other than high blood pressure e.g.
angina or migraine. There is no evidence suggesting that these people should
change to another drug and we would ask you to continue with them.
Summary:
Beta-blockers are safe drugs for most
people
-
We now know that in some
people there are medicines that are more effective than β-blockers for
treating high blood pressure.
-
Do not stop your
medicine without discussing your situation with a clinic nurse or your
doctor first.
-
If your medicines need
changing we will suggest an alternative at your next routine review.
Bird Flu-Popular myths dispelled
Jan
06
Bird flu
is caused by a virus which usually affects birds. It can occasionally
cross the species barrier and infect humans. At present the bird flu
viruses cannot be passed from one human to another and infection depends
on close contact with infected birds.
Recently,
one form of bird flu has been identified which is associated with a very
high death rate when humans are infected. This strain of flu virus does
not have the capability to cause a pandemic at present, however if it
was ever to mutate so that it could be transmitted between humans, a
pandemic could follow.
There
is no way of knowing if and when this may happen. Vaccine cannot be
produced until it happens as we do not know what virus to manufacture
vaccine against. Antiviral drugs exist but until we know what virus we
are dealing with we will not know how effective they will be.
Flu
Pandemic- How can I protect myself and my family?
You
can reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading
influenza during a pandemic by:
•
Covering your nose and mouth when coughing or
sneezing, using a tissue when possible
•
Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully - bag and bin them
•
Avoiding non-essential travel and large crowds whenever possible
•
Maintaining good basic hygiene, for example washing your hands
frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from
your hands to your face, or to other people.
•
Cleaning hard surfaces (e.g. kitchen worktops, door handles) frequently,
using a normal cleaning product
•
Making sure your children follow this advice.
If
you do catch flu:
•
Stay at home and rest
•
Take medicines such as aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetemol to relieve the
symptoms (following the instructions with the medicines). Children
under 16 must not be given aspirin or ready made flu
remedies containing aspirin
•
Drink plenty of fluids.
SUNPROOF YOUR
CHILD
June 2005
Children who
have had one blistering episode of sunburn in childhood are far more
likely to suffer from melanoma later on in life. It appears that young
skin is more vulnerable to UV light than adult skin because it contains
immature pigment cells which, when exposed to UV light, divide more
rapidly. It is thought that this rapid proliferation increases the
chance that DNA damaged cells will reproduce, and in the future, produce
a tumour.
In addition, UV
exposure can affect the developing immune system of a child. This
reduces the chance of producing an immune response, which could destroy
the tumour when it starts developing.
Research shows
that up to the age of 19, the risk for a future melanoma is accrued with
all exposure to UV light, making it vital that we protect our children
from excess UV radiation until their adolescence, at the very least.
Taking any child abroad to a hot climate before the age of 9 will give
that child an ‘Australian’ risk of melanoma for the rest of their life.
Most melanomas will develop after the age of 50, and are not always
found on sun-exposed parts of the body.
Sunscreens will
avoid sunburn, but it is far from clear that they lessen the risk of
skin cancer. They can lead us into a false state of security, leading us
to believe that our children are safe in the UV light. What is clear is
that covering ourselves and our children up and staying out of the sun
is effective in reducing skin cancer risk.
So what can you do
to protect your child?
Avoid the
midday sun- stay in the shade or indoors during the middle of the day
Cover up-make
your child wear a wide brimmed hat and long sleeved clothes ALL the time
you are outside.
Use sunscreen
every day- look for a sunscreen that protects against both UVA, with a
star rating of 4 (****) at least, and UVB rays (at least factor 20)
The Australians
say ‘No hat, no play’. Teach your child safe sun behaviour
Mumps
and MMR vaccine
May 05
There is a national increase in mumps and cases have
occurred in young
people at Alton College -
What is mumps?
Mumps is an infectious disease caused by the mumps
virus. It is a mild
disease in most people and may even go completely
unnoticed. Symptoms
begin with a headache and fever, followed by swelling
of glands in front of the
ears on one or both sides. Rarely, it can cause
complications which could be
unpleasant and require admission to hospital. These
include viral meningitis,
hearing problems and inflammation of the testicles. It
is spread through
coughs and sneezes. People with mumps should stay at
home for 5 days
after the start of swollen glands and avoid contact
with other people where
possible. There is no treatment for mumps.
How can it be prevented?
The only way to prevent mumps is to be immunised with
MMR vaccine
Many young people are not fully protected against mumps
as they have not
had 2 doses of the MMR vaccine. (Students immunised in
1994 at school
would have received the MR vaccine which only protects
against measles and
rubella, not against mumps. Students bom before 1987
generally will not
have had MMR vaccine as young children.)
You are advised to check with your surgery who will be
able to offer you MMR
vaccine if you are not fully protected. Immunisation is
recommended for those
born after 1980 as older people are more likely to be
immune.
MMR vaccine
The vaccine is extremely safe. Further information is
available on www.mmrthefacts.nhs.uk. Medical reasons for not having the
vaccine include
a very weak immune system and pregnancy ~ pregnancy
should be avoided
in the month after immunisation,
Many universities are requesting that new students are
immunised before
starting their courses. This is because large outbreaks
have happened in
universities.
AVOID MUMPS BY
BEING PROTECTED WITH MMR