Can I be charged for medical records
I am 6 months into a claim after I was side swiped on the A1 in March. My solicitor is trying to arrange a medical appointment with a doctor to evaluate my injuries but the doctor will not see me until he has my medical records. My GP will not let my solicitor have my records unless I pay for them. Is this normal? It is frustrating as it is delaying my claim. Any help would be much appreciated.
Jeremy Badcock, by e-mail
Answer
I think I know what is going on here.
Under the old Data Protection Act, GPs could charge a statutory maximum of £50 for providing solicitors with a copy of a patient’s medical records. European legislation called the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) came into force on 25 May 2018 and applies to the UK as the UK is still a member state of the E.U.
GDPR dictates that people are entitled to request their personal data (such as GP records) free of charge. A lot of GP practices and hospitals still don’t realise this and we are seeing this frequently. In your case, if the solicitor’s request was before 25 May then the GP can charge. If the request was after the 25 May then you solicitor should highlight GDPR to the GP practice and they should provide the records for free. If they do not comply with the request within a month they can be fined.
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