Access to Health Records Case Worker

Job overview

Under the Integrated Digital (I-Digital) service model, the post holder will take a pivotal and lead role in the delivery of the organisations statutory obligations to comply with information disclosure requirements under the Data Protection Act 2018 / UK GDPR, Access to Health Records Act 1990, and other regulatory requirements to facilitate disclosure of Health Records.

The post holder will provide administrative support associated with the management of all requests for access to health records.

The post holder will undertake all necessary administration associated with the collation and processing of paper and electronic health records for disclosure and the release of the copy records to the requestor. This includes the tracking and collecting of medical records, photocopying and scanning records, creating PDF documents and preparing the final copy documents for secure dispatch.

The post holder will be required to support and abide by the organisations policies and procedures as part of the integrated service delivery.

Main duties of the job

Provides support the Health Records Manager and Head of Information Governance & DPO  to ensure all requests for disclosure of Health records are processed sensitively, confidentially, accurately and to a high standard.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Processes requests for all Health records within the required timescales by prioritising and managing their own workload including the identification and escalating of any delays or potential breaches in Health Records disclosure deadlines to both the Health Records Manager and Head of Information Governance & DPO immediately.

Responsible for implementing Trust Policies, Procedures and legislation in relation to the handling of patient information at all times. Then using this guidance to complete the process of quality checking copied Health records to ensure accuracy and that no inappropriate or privileged documentation is disclosed to the requestor.

Maintains effective communication with external parties e.g. parents, solicitors, other Trust’s via telephone, in person, email and letters and provides advice and support to Trust staff in relation to requests for disclosure of Health records.

Is responsible for ensuring all requests for disclosure of Health records have the required appropriate authority or Consent and will escalate any potential discrepancies to the Health Records Manager.

Is responsible for entering all new requests for the disclosure of Health records onto the Access to Health Records Spreadsheet on Teams and the Meditech Database.  Each of these systems must then be regularly updated to ensure the current status and stage of each Health record request is clear, accurate and auditable.

Is responsible for checking the Trust’s patient administration systems, to identify the location of all forms of Health records and then retrieving the records from other locations or services including the Trust’s off-site storage locations as appropriate in order to ensure copies of the complete patient Health Records are collated for release.

Liaises with Clinicians to ensure Health records prepared for disclosure are collated and circulated in a suitable format for their review and to then obtain their consent for the release of the records within the required timescales. Any concerns personally identified or identified by Clinicians/Trust staff in relation to Health Records e.g. misfiled records, risk of disclosure of third party information should be escalated to the Health Records Manager to ensure they can be addressed and to avoid delays in any release of records.

Is responsible for ensuring copies of the Health Records are always sent or provided to the requestor securely and in keeping with Trust Policy. All methods, dates and times of distribution must be recorded and filed including postal tracking references to enable follow up or production of evidence if a receipt is disputed.

Is responsible for accurately completing the required paperwork to ensure all requests for Health records can be invoiced appropriately, accurately and in a timely manner.

Is responsible for monitoring and responding to central emails sent to the Access to Health Records Team in a timely manner and also providing general clerical administration to the Access to Health Records Team as required.