Making your first appointment
Mrs Watson will ask you some questions (to check for safety and suitability) when you phone up to make an appointment, but no written record will be kept of your answers, unless you are a diabetic, or you are taking anticoagulants, other than your name, phone number, and the date and time of your appointment
You will not be asked to fill in any forms before your appointment.
Attending your first appointment
When you see Dr Watson for the first time he will ask you detailed questions about your medical condition and history, but in terms of your personal details he will ask only for:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Address and postcode
- Telephone number
- Name and address of GP
- Who referred you (friend, relative, health professional, other)
With whom do we share this information?
The usual outcome is that Dr Watson writes a letter to your GP which contains your name and date of birth, and relevant medical information including your diagnosis and treatment. If you need to be referred to a colleague, your name, date of birth, and contact details will be included in the referral letter.
The Orthopaedic Medical Clinic (unusually) uses handwritten notes. A computer is used to compile and send letters (which are typed by Dr Watson’s medical secretary of the many years), but your data is shared with no other person or organisation, apart from than those mentioned above. (Dr Watson uses email to send dictated letters to his secretary, but both computers are password protected, and the dictation is encrypted.)
You have full control of any of the above activity, as long as you tell Dr Watson what you want.
At one extreme, you can forbid the keeping of any record about your visit whatsoever. This means, of course, that Dr Watson will not be able to let any other health professional know anything about your medical history, diagnosis, or treatment. It also means that if you return to Dr Watson, he may not be able to remember all your details, and this can potentially produce problems.
You might decide that you would like Dr Watson to keep his own records about you, in case you ever have to return to the clinic for further treatment, but not to write to any colleague. If this is the case, you just need to let Dr Watson know, and no letter will be written. (This usually happens quite naturally: Dr Watson asks for your GP’s name and address and you simply explain that you would prefer not to give this information.)
Summary
You are in charge of every aspect of your data: you just need to let Dr Watson know your instructions. Even if you give no specific instructions to Dr Watson, your data will never be shared with any person or organisation unless this is necessary to optimise your treatment. We will take good care of your data.
If you have any concerns, do feel free to raise them at any point in the consultation.