Why secure, accurate and accessible patient records matter in private practice

Why TouchPoints.health provides a dedicated secure portal for every patient

The Information Commissioner’s recent findings highlight a simple truth. When people try to access their records, the experience can be painful, slow and fragmented. The ICO’s research revealed long delays, missing information, inconsistent communication and disorganised files stretching back years. In local authorities and care settings, this is causing real harm.

While the ICO’s campaign focuses on the public sector, the underlying message applies equally to private healthcare. Poor record keeping undermines trust, exposes organisations to legal and regulatory risk and makes it harder for clinicians to provide safe, consistent care.

In private practice, where patients expect clarity and personalised attention, the standards must be equally high.

Fragmented records create clinical, operational and regulatory risk

When parts of a patient’s journey sit in WhatsApp chats, personal email inboxes or handwritten notes, the practice loses control of its information. The ICO highlights exactly the consequences of such fragmentation.

Indemnity risk

If details of discussions, decisions or instructions are not stored in the official patient record, the clinician’s defence becomes far weaker. Medico legal insurers expect a complete, traceable audit trail. Missing or informal records create avoidable exposure.

GDPR non compliance

Using consumer messaging apps and unstructured email threads falls outside the protections expected for health data. Practices cannot reliably audit who has seen the data, how long it is retained, or whether it can be securely deleted. The ICO made clear that organisations must record information with the expectation that individuals may request it later. This applies equally to private healthcare providers.

Patient trust

The ICO’s accounts describe people receiving incomplete files, disordered notes, blank pages and unclear redactions. In private practice, a similar experience would severely erode patient confidence, particularly at moments when they need reassurance or continuity.

A structured, secure and accessible record is a patient right

Patients should never feel that their identity, history or healthcare narrative is hidden behind disorganised records or unclear systems. Their journey deserves to be documented accurately, compassionately and in a way that is easy to access.

This is where private practice can lead by example.

How TouchPoints.health addresses these challenges

TouchPoints.health has been designed from the ground up to solve the issues the ICO raises. It gives every patient a secure digital portal that brings clarity and transparency to their care history, while supporting consultants and PAs with modern, structured workflows.

1. A secure patient portal for every individual

Patients can log in and see the shared documents, letters, results and messages that relate to their clinical care. Practices can track which documents have been viewed, opened or acknowledged. This supports safer consultations and reduces misunderstandings.

2. A complete chronological journey

Every appointment, referral, form, result, task and communication is recorded in one place. Clinicians and PAs can see exactly what has happened, what is pending and what needs to occur next. Nothing is trapped in a personal inbox or private phone.

3. Audit trails that support indemnity

Every action is timestamped. Every document is preserved in a compliant record. Every version is traceable. This gives consultants the defensibility and clarity that insurers expect.

4. Full GDPR alignment

TouchPoints.health operates within a secure, ISO 27001 certified environment. Records can be retained, accessed, audited and viewed in a structured, compliant way. This stands in clear contrast to the unmanageable sprawl of email chains and consumer messaging apps.

5. Clarity for patients

The ICO described people receiving disordered, missing or inconsistent records when they needed them most. TouchPoints.health ensures that private practice patients receive the opposite experience: clear documents, clear timelines and a transparent understanding of their care.

6. Better clinical outcomes through structured data

Because patient information is centralised, consultants gain insights that would be impossible with fragmented systems. Practices can track outcomes, follow up performance, diagnostics completion and other key indicators of quality.

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A more compassionate and modern way to handle records

The care experienced adults quoted by the ICO describe the emotional weight of trying to retrieve their story from a broken system. While private practice is different, the lesson is universal. Healthcare records are not just paperwork. They are a person’s care, their identity, their history and their journey through treatment.

Private practices that rely on WhatsApp, email and sticky notes risk repeating the same mistakes on a smaller scale.

TouchPoints.health offers a modern, secure alternative. It ensures that every patient’s record is accurate, accessible and cared for with the professionalism they deserve.

For consultants and clinics committed to high quality care, the message is clear. Better records lead to better care. A secure patient portal makes that possible.

To see for yourself book a free demo