Any patient may request a copy of their medical record.

The practice must provide a copy of patients notes to the patient free of charge. However, a ‘reasonable’ fee can be charged when a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive particularly if it is repetitive. A reasonable fee can be charged to comply with request for further copies of the same information. This does not mean that the surgery can charge for all subsequent subject access requests. The fee must be based on the Administrative cost of providing the information.

Information must be provided within one month of request. The surgery will be able to extend this period by a further 2 months where requests are complex or numerous. In this case, the surgery must inform the individual within one month of request and explain why the extension is necessary.