Research from Healthwatch has uncovered that 23% of adults have noticed inaccuracies or missing details in their medical records.
UK charity Healthwatch has found that almost one in four (23%) adults have noticed inaccuracies or missing details in their medical records.
Incorrect information can cause both inconveniences and represent a clinical risk to individuals. For example, the most common issue is inaccurate personal details, such as name or date of birth.
There are more serious dangers. Other errors include inaccurate records of medications, diagnoses or treatments. Over one in seven (16%) of those who reported an inaccurate record said that this related to inaccurate information about what medication they had taken.
A Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) report in February last year reiterated that the misidentification of patients remains a persistent safety risk across the NHS and it is one that is under-recognised and under-researched.
“Despite national improvement efforts, misidentification remains a persistent safety risk,” said Nick Woodier, senior safety investigator at HSSIB at the time.
Healthwatch said that it is unclear how many of these individuals have since been able to correct their records, though patient feedback indicates that correcting records can be a long and difficult process.
Missing information
When it comes to missing information, 29% of those who have noticed inaccuracies in their records said that one or more diagnosed health conditions are not on their medical record. The same proportion (29%) said important information from their medical history is missing, such as periods of serious ill health or time spent in hospital.
Information added to the NHS App from other sources, such as hospital letters and test results, currently varies, and people may have to go to each service to request a copy of their full records. This represents an issue, demonstrating the need for clear communication to help people understand how their records work.
Healthwatch said that the most common consequence is the inconvenience of filling in the missing information for medical professionals during appointments. Over one in four (26%) of those who have noticed inaccuracies say they must repeat their patient history, which can be frustrating.
Sometimes, inaccurate patient records may lead to poor or incorrect treatment and care.
More than one in eight (13%) of those who have noticed inaccuracies in their records said they had not received an important test or treatment that they would have if the information had been correct.
A similar number of people (12%) said they had been refused treatment because of inaccurate or missing information. Concerningly, 10% said they have been given incorrect or inappropriate medication, and 9% said they have received potentially unsafe care or treatment.
Medication errors
The issue of incorrect or inappropriate medication is a significant one. Medication error claims have cost the NHS £54 million in compensation payouts alone in the last five years, as well as a further £35.6 million in legal costs, according to data obtained by Medical Negligence Assist (MNA).
“Though they may be rare, medication errors can have devastating and life-altering consequences for both the patient and their families,” said Sophie Cope, clinical negligence solicitor at JF Law.
“It is really important that mistakes are acknowledged and challenged quickly and effectively to prevent them from happening in the future, and it is key that those affected know that support is available to them,” she added.
Between April 2019 and March 2024, NHS Resolution – the legal arm of the health service – received a total of 1,129 claims and incidents relating to errors in the medication process. Of those, 765 claims have been settled with damages amounting to £54 million.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust alone has paid out £4.7 million settling ten claims between 2019-2024, the highest amount out of any identifiable Trust in England.
Single patient record
Healthwatch has made three recommendations to improve the issue.
First, better record keeping could be achieved by promoting relevant guidance and regulations by professional regulators, as well as better interoperability to ensure records are shared effectively.
“The government’s ambition to have a single patient record should help address this,” it said.
People’s right to amend their records needs to be clearer, along with the legal reasons why services may still have to retain a record of contested information. “It is also important to make more people aware that they can complain to the NHS or the Information Commissioner’s Office,” Healthwatch said.
Finally, there needs to be clearer guidance for patients about how to change incorrect records.
In response to the research, Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said that “inadvertent and unfortunate” mistakes were inevitable given the pressures that GPs are under.
“There may be many reasons for administrative errors occurring but inadequate IT infrastructure, intense workload and workforce pressures in general practice, high levels of unnecessary bureaucracy, and poor communication between different parts of the health service could all contribute to mistakes being made,” she said.
BMG Research conducted a nationally representative survey for Healthwatch of 1,800 adults between 24 and 27 March this year.
