Handling patient data and erasure requests

Patients have rights over their data under UK GDPR, including the right to see it, correct it and ask for it to be erased. Your clinic, as the data controller, responds to these requests, and most of the work happens in Clinicify.

Before you start

• Only owners can export a patient’s data. Practitioners and receptionists don’t see Export patient data (GDPR) on a patient’s record.
• Only owners can process an erasure request. Other team members see the request on the patient’s record, with a note that only a clinic owner can process it.
• Only owners can bypass retention with Created in error, which is for genuine mistakes, not erasure requests.
• You normally have one month to respond to a request.

A patient asks for a copy of their data

An owner does this:

1. Open the patient’s record from Patients.
2. Select the Patient actions menu (the three dots next to their name).
3. Select Export patient data (GDPR).

A JSON file downloads with the patient’s details, medical notes and allergies, clinical notes, appointments, lab results, questions and answers, and activity. Check it, then send it to the patient securely. Each export is recorded in the audit trail.

A patient asks you to correct their data

Update the record as usual. See Edit a patient’s details. Patients can also update some of their own details in the patient portal.

A patient asks for erasure

Patients can request erasure themselves: in the patient portal they go to Settings, then Your data & privacy, and select Request data erasure. As soon as they confirm, Clinicify turns off their marketing emails and texts. The patient then sees “Your clinic will process this.”

Every owner of your clinic is emailed that a patient has made an erasure request. The email doesn’t name the patient: select Review the request and sign in to see whose record it is. The request also shows on the patient’s record.

To process it (owners only):

1. Open the patient’s record. A notice reads Right-to-erasure requested with the date.
2. Select Process request.
3. Review the dialog. It lists any linked records that will also be removed, such as treatments, appointments, lab results, notes and photos.
4. Check the retention message. If the patient has clinical records, it gives the date they must be kept until.
5. Select Erase patient.

If a patient asks you directly rather than through the portal, open their record, select Patient actions > Delete patient, then Archive patient. The outcome is the same.

How erasure works with retention

• No clinical records: the patient is permanently deleted after the operational period, 90 days by default.
• Clinical records: the law requires these to be kept for a set period, so erasure is limited. Clinicify stops active use now: the patient is archived and hidden from everyday screens, and their portal account stops working. Their records are permanently deleted when the retention period ends. The patient was told this when they made the request.

Good to know

• Owners can see archived patients and their deletion dates in Archived records.
• Restoring an archived patient also clears their erasure request.
• If a request needs something the app can’t do, the data processing agreement explains how Clinicify helps.