Almost one in four patients in England have found mistakes in their medical records such as errors over their illness, drugs they have taken or treatment they have received.
The blunders have led to patients missing out on diagnostic tests or treatment, being refused care or being given medication they did not need, research by an NHS watchdog has found.
In some cases, their official medical history wrongly said they had illnesses they had never had.
Healthwatch England, which revealed how often such inaccuracies occur in medical records, urged the NHS to do more to “get the basics right” when staff record details of patients and their care.
In a representative survey of 1,800 adults living in England, 409 (23%) of them said they had come across mistakes or missing details, such as their name or date of birth, in their patient records.
Some errors are so serious they could put patients at risk, for example by missing out on treatment they need, said Louise Ansari, Healthwatch’s chief executive.
She said the body, which is the health service’s patient champion in England, commissioned the survey after patients told it of “alarming issues” with medical records.
“Missed information and mistakes in medical records are frustrating and can put people’s health at risk. Sorting admin problems is not always easy and can be time-consuming, putting pressure on patients or their families,” Ansari said.
Among the reported errors:
26% related to personal details such as name or date of birth.
16% involved medication a patient had taken.
9% of errors incorrectly listed a patient as having had a particular illness
9% said a patient had taken specific drugs to treat an ailment.
Among that group, 10% said they had been given wrong or inappropriate medication as a result of the error, and 9% said they had received potentially unsafe care or treatment. One in eight (12%) said inaccurate or missing information had led to them being refused treatment.
The Patients Association said errors in records, which can occur during care at a GP surgery or hospital, could result in “dangerous delays, misdiagnoses and missed care”.
Rachel Power, the association’s chief executive, said: “Since January we’ve received over 100 helpline inquiries about this issue and our patient guide on accessing medical records has several hundred downloads.
“Behind each of these errors is a real person facing anxiety and uncertainty about their care. Many of these cases involve incorrect or missing diagnoses and treatments, and callers tell us these errors are predominantly made in GP practices or sometimes in secondary care.
“We understand the immense pressure healthcare professionals face. But inaccuracies like these can lead to dangerous delays, misdiagnoses and missed care, which is simply unacceptable and deeply concerning to patients. These record errors not only exacerbate illness but add significant stress during already difficult times.”
She said patients must be able to trust that their medical records are correct and should not have to recount their medical history repeatedly or spend time seeking to correct their own records.
Patients variously told Healthwatch about how errors in their records meant they were given a potentially wrong drug for their diabetes because their GP did not know they had a cyst, or were misinformed about ADHD medication because of an information mix-up involving their GP surgery and a private ADHD diagnostic service.
National Voices, a coalition of health and care charities, said mistakes were so common in the paper and digital records the NHS maintains that some were akin to “Swiss cheese records”.
“There’s much talk about how shifting the NHS from analogue to digital will make it more efficient and effective. But realising this brave new future requires a solid foundation of accurate data, not Swiss cheese records, which are creating a mountain of problems for patients and clinicians,” said Jacob Lant, its chief executive.
Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, said family doctors would be deeply concerned by the findings.
“There may be many reasons for administrative errors occurring. But inadequate IT infrastructure, intense workloads and workforce pressures in general practice, high levels of unnecessary bureaucracy and poor communication between different parts of the health service all contribute to mistakes being made,” she said.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “It is unacceptable that patients are missing out on vital treatments and tests simply because of errors with their medical records.
“This government inherited an analogue NHS, but we’re committed to catapulting it into the digital age through our plan for change. We will create a health service fit for the future and put patients in control of their own medical history through a single patient record, summarising patient health information, test results and letters in one place via the NHS app.”
