RCGP Safeguarding toolkit

Managing safeguarding information in the context of patient online access

There is already extensive guidance on this in the RCGP GP online services toolkit and practitioners working in areas where there is patient online access should be familiar with all aspects of this toolkit. This toolkit provides specific safeguarding guidance on:

• Coercion – guidance on the impact of coercion to share record access with a third person or failure to maintain the privacy of online record access.
• Safeguarding and automatic record access – guidance on managing safeguarding risks and online record access.
• Safeguarding and vulnerable groups – guidance on how specific groups of vulnerable groups of patients may not be able to manage online record access safely.

In addition, the GP online services toolkit also provides extensive guidance on all the aspects of patient online access including managing potential harmful information, redaction and data quality for online access.