Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 (AMRA)

Introduction

The Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 (AMRA) enables any individual to have the right of access to their medical records for employment or insurance purposes.

Applicants are asked to provide signed consent enabling us to obtain a medical report. In doing so they can choose whether to view the report before the General Practitioner (GP) returns it to us.

Key Points for clients who do not wish to see their GP’s Report

• A letter of confirmation is sent to the client advising we have requested a General Practitioner’s Report (GPR)
• If a client does not wish to view the report, the GP will return it to us immediately on completion
• At any time in the 6 months after issue of the report, the client can legally still view the report and should contact their GP directly

Key Points for clients who do wish to see their GP’s Report

• The client should be aware that this is likely to result in a delay with the underwriting of the application
• A letter of confirmation is sent to the client advising we have requested a General Practitioner’s Report (GPR)
• The client should then arrange to view the report at the GP’s surgery within 21 days
• If the Report is not viewed within 21 days, the GP can send it back to us

At the viewing of their GP’s Report, the client has three options:

• Agree to the report being sent unaltered
• Refuse consent to the report being sent
• Request the GP to amend the report

The GP then has two options:

• Refuse to amend the report – in which case the client can make additional notes beside the disputed comments
• Refuse access to medical records or parts of them if, in his or her opinion, this is detrimental to the client’s health or would reveal information about somebody else or reveal the identity of a third party

There are other Acts relevant to Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man:

Access to Personal Files and Medical Reports for Northern Ireland Order 1991 and,

The Isle of Man Access to Health Records and Reports Act 1993