Patient records, duplicates and confusions

Patient does not respond to a request from the GP Practice to verify their details, in the case of a duplicate registration. 

After you have raised the duplicate case and have chased the patient without a response, please let PCSE know and we can log this to the National Back Office to see if they have further information on their side to help with merging the numbers.

Receiving medical records after a duplicate patient record has been merged.

Once the two NHS numbers are merged, a transit label will be generated for any medical records that are linked to the patient but that are not at the current practice.  This will enable the movement of the records as per the usual process. 
 

New patient registers without NHS number and there are two NHS numbers on the Spine.

If you discover the patient has two NHS numbers, first make sure they relate to the same patient (based on the information the patient provided on the registration form).  If both numbers do belong to the same patient, you should use the number that is registered to a current practice. 
 

One patient, with two records, one with and one without an NHS number.

PCSE would not see this as a duplicate as 2 NHS numbers have not been allocated to the patient.  If you have two entries on your system for a patient but only one NHS number, then you should merge the clinical system records.  For advice on how to do this please contact your system supplier.

 
An incorrect registration results in an additional record being created, with an NHS number. 

If the incorrect record that was created resulted in an extra NHS number being allocated, then please raise an online form by visiting the following link. You should select Patient Registrations as the category, and Duplicates and Confusions as the type. If the extra record did not result in an extra NHS number, then please merge the records on your local system.

If you need to notify us of any duplicates or confusions cases, please use our dedicated, secure Duplicates and Confusions online form - choose Patient Registrations as the category and Duplicates and Confusions as the type.

If you need to notify us of any duplicates or confusions cases, please use our dedicated, secure Duplicates and Confusions online form - choose Patient Registrations as the category and Duplicates and Confusions as the type.

Confusions

This is where two patients have the same NHS number – this often occurs when a patient registers with a practice, and the incorrect patient details are selected from PDS on the Spine, confusing the two patient’s details.

This can cause medical records to be combined for the two patients and can often result in the patient/s being registered between practices. Confusions carry a clinical risk, as they can result in a patient missing screening programmes and incorrect medical care being provided.

Duplicates

This is where you find one patient has two NHS numbers. Cases like this often lead to the medical records being mixed between two medical record envelopes, which could lead to the full patient history not being fully reviewed by practitioners.

If you need to notify us of any duplicates or confusions cases, please use our dedicated, secure Duplicates and Confusions online form - choose Patient Registrations as the category and Duplicates and Confusions as the type.

Once notified, PCSE will investigate the case and update NHAIS. PCSE will then log a request with the National Back Office to update the data held on PDS/Spine. The National Back Office can take between 4 – 6 weeks to return to PCSE. Overall it could take 6-8 weeks to resolve.

We will then complete and close the case within five working days.