From The Guardian:
NHS patients will be allowed to see and edit their medical records under proposals in a government-commissioned report.
The plan is contained in a report that an expert advisory group, headed by Professor Steve Field, the coalition's NHS troubleshooter, is finalising before handing it to the Department of Health.
The changes would enable patients to view their whole medical history, study the result of diagnostic tests and see what drugs they have been prescribed before. They would also be able to check on their next appointment and order a repeat prescription.
The NHS Future Forum will outline the significant extension of patients' rights in a report on how greater availability of information in the health service can improve treatment and make users of NHS services feel more involved and empowered.
The plan will help the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, finally realise his longstanding goal of an "information revolution" intended to help put patients more in control of their own care and health information.
The scheme could be operational in England inside three years, the forum believes.
One forum member said that in an age when citizens could access their bank account details from their home computer, it was "unsustainable" for existing restrictions on patients' access to their personal health records to continue.
Currently, patients' right to see their records is protected under the NHS Constitution but they have to apply for access and explain why they want to see them.
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