The Lincolnshire Care Record is a secure computer system that provides health and care staff with a selected view of a patient’s personal information contained in different health and care systems.

At the moment, every health and social care organisation that you use has a different set of patient or service user records for you. These records may duplicate information or one record might hold information about your treatment, care and support that another one doesn’t. To provide the best care to you as a patient or service user it is essential that health and social care professionals have access to the most up-to-date information.

The care record brings together selected patient information from multiple organisations and systems in real time. It can also notify users when relevant events occur as well as providing secure communication between care providers. 

The Lincolnshire Care Record provides a view of selected personal information about each patient or service user so that whenever you are being treated or cared for by the NHS or social care services the people looking after you will have the most up-to-date information. Examples of the information that could be included are:

Address and telephone number – so we have one set of contact details for you.

Diagnosis list – to make sure your health or social care professional has a complete record of your care.

Allergies – to make sure you aren’t prescribed or given any medicines you could have an adverse reaction to.

Test results – to speed up your treatment and care.

Referrals, clinic letters and discharge information – to make sure the people caring for you have all the information they need about treatment you are having.

Records will be viewable only if they are relevant and add value. Certain very sensitive data, such as sexual health records will not be viewable in the care record. Other sensitive information can be 'sealed off' (for example, certain mental health data) and will only be viewable if a health or care professional provides a reason for needing to access it and this will be audited. The decisions about which information can be viewed are taken by the organisation that holds the information in each system that is linked up.

Information contained in paper files will not be viewable, nor will historic information that is not held electronically. Individual organisations have plans in place for moving to all records being electronic, but this is separate to the Lincolnshire Care Record programme.

The Lincolnshire Care Record will provide health and social care professionals directly involved in your care access to the most up-to-date information about you.

Information is already shared by phone and paper records on request. The care record makes this information available quicker and will free up professionals to spend time with the patient rather than chasing down paperwork. It will mean that patients don't have to repeat themselves when they see different professionals. It will also enable care to be provided in a more coordinated way and could avoid repeat tests and procedures being done.

The Lincolnshire Care Record is a “view only” system which draws information from several health and social care systems. Only health and social care professionals can add and update your records within their own systems; any changes made in these systems will be reflected in information in the care record.

By law, everyone working in, or on behalf of, the NHS and social care must respect your privacy and keep all information about you safe.

The Lincolnshire Care Record has an audit function which means it tracks everyone who has accessed a health and social care record, the time and date when they accessed it and the information they were viewing. The laws on data protection are clear and we take them very seriously.

Yes, you have the right to opt out at any time if you are 16 years of age or older.

From the age of 13 to 16, we will consider your right to opt out if your form has been signed on your behalf by someone with parental responsibility.

If it has not, we will ask a recognised health or social work professional if they consider you to be competent to make such a decision.

We don’t recommend opting out, as information that could be vital when you need health or social care support – for instance, during a visit to a hospital emergency department – might not be immediately to hand as a result.

If all relevant health and social care professionals do not have access to the most appropriate information it could affect your care.

However, the decision is entirely yours. If you do want to opt out, you will need to complete our Opt Out Form.

If you have already opted out previously but would like to opt-in, please complete our Opt In Form.

By 2024, the NHS will have to enable patients to see their own records. In Lincolnshire, we are starting to work on developing our patient portal now. Through the patient portal, patients will be able to see a view of their records - this could be checking when appointments are, what medication they are on and how referrals for their care are progressing. In time, they will be able to use the patient portal to update their own care records, for instance if they are monitoring their blood sugar or blood pressure, and they should be able to upload information about how they are managing their condition and their preferences for their care. This will allow patients to be more actively involved in the decisions made about their own care.

Patients have the right under Section 7 of the Data Protection Act (1998) to request access to any information that an organisation holds about them. Each individual organisation that contributes information to the Lincolnshire Care Record has a responsibility to handle these “Subject Access Requests”.

Should you wish to access your records this way, contact the organisation who holds the part of the record you are interested in directly, e.g. your GP, hospital, mental health trust or social care team.

The Lincolnshire Care Record was first developed through the Lincolnshire Health and Care Programme (LHAC). It is now part of the Lincolnshire Integrated Care System (ICS) and the ICS and the Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) team oversees the development of the care record.

All health organisations in the county are involved, as well as the County Council, the Ambulance Service and the independent care sector. The Lincolnshire Care Record system is located at Lincoln County Hospital. Safeguards are in place to ensure that all information is handled safely and securely. Our Fair Processing Notice page explains how your information will be used.