Concept explainer
Access directives
Explains how a patient sets directives on their record, choosing what is shared and with whom, within the rules of the hospital.
You decide who sees which parts of your record. A directive is how you set that choice, choosing what is shared and with whom. The hospital honours your directive within the rules that keep you safe.
What a directive is
A directive is an instruction you give about your own record. It can consent to a procedure, choose who may view a document, or set how the hospital contacts you. Each directive is stored as a first-class entry, so your record carries your choices beside the clinical facts.
What you can direct
| Directive | What it sets |
|---|---|
| Sharing a part | Which parts of your record a named person may view. |
| Consent to care | Your agreement to a procedure or a treatment. |
| Contact channel | How the hospital reaches you, and your quiet hours. |
| Family access | A family member's view of the parts you choose. |
A family member's view is a directive too. Set one up in sharing with a family member.
The hospital's rules
A directive works alongside the hospital's own access rules. The two agree before a part of your record is shared. When you are under care, the clinicians treating you reach the record they need to keep you safe. Your directive shapes sharing beyond that care.
This is the two-plane idea. Your own choices sit on one side, and a care relationship sits on the other. A part is shared when both point the same way. The hospital's side comes from a person's role and their relationship to you, set out in how a permission is decided.
Emergency access
In an emergency, a clinician reaches your record to treat you. That access follows a defined path and is logged with the clinician, the time and the reason. You see it in your access history.
The sharing decision
Changing a directive
You update a directive at any time. A change takes effect for every request that follows. Your record keeps the earlier directive as history, so your choices stay reconstructable.
Common questions
Does a directive stop my own doctor seeing my record?
A clinician caring for you reaches the record they need for your safety. A directive shapes sharing beyond that care.
Can I change my mind later?
Yes. Update a directive at any time. The change applies to every request that follows.
Where do I see who has access?
Your access history lists the staff who have opened your record, and when.
Review each open of your record in who looked at my record.