Nhs Patient Online Service Is It Safe?

[smurfchops]

Thinking of registering and using to make appointments online but is it safe or will it be easy to hack into, will it be of use to anyone else?

[EcclesCake]

You are being a tad paranoid IMHO.

They're not going to be able to empty your bank account or order a months worth of opiates.

[Peter Pedant]

i think it is safe

the only misuse of info of NHS info is the supplying of names and addresses - and not as everyone supposes
that you have a swollen smelly big toe

[EDDIE51]

All that could happen is someone makes you an appointment to see your GP.
They can't see your medical records or anything. No more or less secure than the telephone. After all someone could phone your doctors and make an appointment in your name.

[EDDIE51]

Just waiting for someone to suggest that it will be used by immigrants to get a doctors appointment !!

[jno]

Eddie, I also use it to request repeat prescriptions; so if anyone did hack it, I suppose they could see those and the lengthy list of drugs I take.

Which doesn't bother me but if it does bother smurfchops she should make sure she can still continue scrip requests in the old way.

[EDDIE51]

^^ There was a post on this a while back. As far as I remember the entire NHS prescription system is going 'paperless'. It is being trialed in a few places first. You will not get a written prescription , it will be transmitted directly to the pharmacy by email. You go to the pharmacy show ID and pick up your meds. You can choose which pharmacy you want to collect from.
You can order repeat prescriptions online, at a pharmacy or at the surgery.

[woofgang]

I have been using it for about a year now and its brilliant....no hanging on the phone and it takes a mountain of work of the receptionists’ shoulders

[jno]

Eddie, that's correct. But my actual list of drugs is on my Patient Access account for a hacker to look at. And every time I request repeats, the request appears online and stays there, along with the pharmacy where I pick them up. I can see my last two years of prescription history. I don't know why that doesn't get removed, but presumably my doctor can't actually do that - the sevice isn't his, it just notifies him of my requests - and I can't either.

[ubasses]

Been using a couple of years, great for repeat prescriptions, tick a box and submit. With our surgery we find there are hardly any appointments put online so still have to ring for those. The information under Patient Records is so basic in the unlikely event of it being hacked there would be very little divulged.

[jno]

ubasses, yes, I think it's up to the surgery to put available appointments online and they often seem to forget. When they do, however, it means you can choose which doctor you want to see, which is a great improvement (for me).

[smurfchops]

Thanks all, I am possibly a bit paranoid and must stop buying the Daily Mail ....

[smurfchops]

Its really good !!

[whiskeryron]

I would like to go a stage further & be able to put a pin number on line & get my patient records up so that I can see dates of blood tests & results etc. I'm sure it could be made as safe & anti hack proof as possible.