Frequently Asked Questions

The basics | Your GP record and data collection | What you receive | Privacy and control | Comparisons | Scope and limitations | Complaints

The Basics

What exactly do you do?

We retrieve your GP health record (NHS or private) through a Subject Access Request and organise it into a structured, searchable, AI-ready personal health record - ultimately a single folder on your computer, containing text-based files. We also organise any data you supply yourself (wearable exports, private lab results, tracking apps) alongside your GP record, if you choose. See what you get for everything in your Chronicle Pack.

Who benefits most from this service?

See the For You? page.

What is the difference between Chronicle Health and my Chronicle Pack?

Chronicle Health is us: the company, run by one person, that does the work. Your Chronicle Pack is what you end up with: the organised set of documents built from your GP record, sitting as ordinary files on your own device. Chronicle Health builds your Chronicle Pack, and then it is yours, with no portal, no account and nothing to keep paying for.

The word is deliberate. A chronicle is a record of events set down in order, which is exactly what decades of scattered medical notes become once they are organised, dated and cited. You may also see it called your personal health record: that is the standard term used across the NHS and in our Terms of Service, and it means the same thing.

How long does it take?

GP practices typically respond to Subject Access Requests within a week (though they have one calendar month). The processing and organisation itself typically takes less than one day.

How do I begin?

See the How It Works page for the full step-by-step process, or head to Get Started to pick an option and leave your email. You then read and sign your agreement in the browser there and then, which takes about five minutes. Nothing is payable until your record is delivered.

Do I need technical knowledge to use this service?

No. We handle the technical work. You just need to tell us which GP practice(s) to request records from, provide any additional data you want included, and review the result.

How do we communicate during the process?

However you prefer - email, video calls, phone, or messaging apps. If you live in or near London, we’re more than happy to meet in person.

Your GP Record and Data Collection

Does my GP have all my health records?

No. Your GP record is the closest thing the NHS has to a lifelong health record, and for a generally healthy person it captures the majority of meaningful encounters. But the NHS has no central patient record. There are around 7,000 separate organisations (“data controllers”) each independently holding information about patients they have treated.

Your GP record contains your GP consultations, prescriptions, vaccinations, diagnoses, and letters received from hospitals and specialists. But it does not contain:

• Hospital detail - The GP receives only a discharge summary after a hospital stay, not the full clinical record. Audits show these summaries average only about 72% completeness, and nearly a third arrive too late to be useful
• Diagnostic images - X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs are stored on hospital imaging systems. Your GP receives a text report, never the actual images
• Mental health records - Mental health trusts maintain entirely separate systems. Your GP may receive clinic letters, but detailed therapy notes and risk assessments stay within the trust
• A&E visits - Whether your GP is even notified of an emergency department visit varies by local arrangement
• Dental, optometry, and pharmacy records - All held in completely separate systems with no routine data flow to your GP
• Community health services - District nursing, physiotherapy, speech therapy, and similar services typically use their own clinical systems
• Private healthcare - Anything from private consultations, surgery, or testing exists only in the private provider’s records unless someone specifically copies your GP in
• Social care - Local authority records are held under entirely separate governance

A complete list of all GP practices in the UK is published by NHS England as the “GP Practices” file.

What happens to my GP record when I change practice?

Your GP record is transferred to your new practice through GP2GP, which electronically moves your full record between practices, even when they use different clinical software. This is one of the reasons the GP record works as a lifelong record.

However, GP2GP transfers are not always perfect. Attachments such as scanned letters or hospital correspondence can fail to transfer, and older records originally held on paper may not have been digitised. If you have changed practice several times, there is a risk that some data was lost along the way. Chronicle Health requests your current GP record (which should contain your full transferred history), creates a structured clinical timeline that makes gaps visible, and can submit SARs to previous practices for missing records if needed.

Are sexual health (GUM) clinic visits included in my GP record?

Usually not. Sexual health clinics have enhanced confidentiality under NHS regulations - attendance, test results, and treatment are not automatically shared with your GP. You are typically asked whether you consent to your GP being informed, and can decline. If you did consent, a summary letter may appear in your GP record, but detailed clinical notes remain with the clinic. HIV care is a partial exception - ongoing management often involves the GP, so information sharing is more common (still with your consent). This means your GP record may contain little or no trace of sexual health clinic visits unless you specifically agreed to disclosure.

What if my GP record doesn’t cover everything?

For a generally healthy person, the GP record captures the majority of meaningful health encounters. If you have significant hospital history, specialist treatment, or mental health care, we’re happy to discuss requesting records from other NHS providers on your behalf. This is something we can explore during an initial consultation.

What data sources do you work with?

The core service is your GP record (NHS or private). On top of that, we’ll happily organise digital data you supply yourself: private healthcare records (consultations, hospital records, executive health assessments, private diagnostics), wearables and fitness trackers, symptom and condition tracking apps, sleep and women’s-health apps, nutrition logs, summary reports from genetic testing services, dental and optometry records, and family medical history. We work with standard digital formats (PDF, text, CSV); we don’t process raw genetic sequence files or medical imaging, but we can organise the written reports that accompany imaging. Get in touch if you’d like to check whether something specific can be included.

If I’ve used private healthcare, how is my data organised?

Private healthcare providers typically operate as separate divisions (e.g. Bupa’s hospitals, dental, and digital GP services all use separate systems). Accessing comprehensive clinical records usually requires Subject Access Requests to the specific division or location where you received treatment.

How do I gather my health data from non-NHS sources?

Most health apps, wearables, and private testing companies offer data export. You also have the right under GDPR to request a portable copy of your data from any service. We can guide you through exporting from specific tools during the process; just send us what you have and we’ll organise it alongside your GP record.

How long does a Subject Access Request take?

NHS providers are legally required to respond within one calendar month, counted from the day the request is received. GP practices typically respond quite fast - often 1 week or less. Hospital trusts typically take longer, and providers can legally add a further two months for “complex” requests. Delays can arise from records stored in multiple IT systems, older archived records, or manual review to redact third-party information. We handle all the follow-ups and chasing for you. See the How It Works page for more detail on the SAR process.

What if the NHS doesn’t respond to my Subject Access Request on time?

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can enforce SAR compliance, but professional follow-ups usually get results before needing to escalate.

What if I can’t get all my health records?

We work with whatever you can access. Having a partial but well-organised health record is still valuable as a starting point - gaps become visible in the structured clinical timeline, and you can fill them over time.

What if I don’t have much health data?

Most people have more than they realise spread across different sources. Even organising a modest amount of data can provide valuable clarity. However, if you really don’t have much (or it’s inaccessible in other countries), this is probably not the right service for you.

What You Receive

What format will my health record be in?

• Your original record: Your full GP record exactly as received from the practice (PDF)
• All derived documents shared as PDF and/or Markdown (.md) - open, human-readable formats that any device can open

Everything is designed to be easily searchable, accessible on any device, and usable with AI tools. You’re not locked into proprietary formats. See what you get for the document-by-document breakdown.

How much data can you typically process?

Any volume - from a straightforward GP record to a comprehensive record spanning 70+ years of medical history (earliest records so far: from 1954!). More data may take slightly longer, but there is no limit.

Can you process handwritten clinical notes?

Yes. Older GP records commonly include scanned images of handwritten clinical notes - often decades of doctor’s handwriting on Lloyd George cards. We transcribe these using AI as part of the core service, with a plain-English interpretation alongside the original medical terminology. Original scanned images are always retained alongside the transcriptions for verification. Dosages are excluded from transcriptions as a safety measure. You can try a real entry yourself and watch it turn into plain English, or see the How It Works page for full details on the transcription process.

Do you scan paper records for me?

No. We process records that are already in digital formats. If you have paper records, you will need to scan them yourself before we can process them. However, handwritten notes already in digital form - such as scanned images within a GP SAR response - are transcribed as part of the service.

Can I use my health record with AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT?

Absolutely. Once your data is organised, you can upload documents for analysis, ask questions about patterns in your health history, understand complex medical terminology, and more. Structured, comprehensive data produces better results from AI than fragmented information. Note: AI provides information, not medical diagnosis - always consult qualified healthcare professionals.

How do I keep my health record up to date?

Keeping your pack current will mean it continues to be useful into the future. We’ll be writing about how easy this can be soon (expected this month - Aug 2026). Until then, all documents come as plain text as well as PDF, so you can edit them yourself if you need to.

Privacy and Control

Is my data safe?

Your data is processed with encrypted storage, data minimisation at every step, and full deletion after delivery. We will never discuss or share anything about your health with anyone other than you: no healthcare providers, no family members, no third parties. For the full technical detail, see How Your Data Is Protected.

Who owns my health data after you process it?

You do. Completely. We don’t retain copies, sell access, or use your data for anything other than creating your health record.

What happens to my data after my health record is delivered?

You receive your health record, and we delete all our copies within 28 days of delivery (or immediately on request). Deletion runs as a scheduled fortnightly sweep on or after delivery plus 14 days, which is where the 28-day maximum comes from. See the deletion policy for details.

Can my family members access my health record?

Only if you explicitly choose to share files with them. By default, your health record is private and accessible only to you.

Could my records contain information I wasn’t aware of?

Yes. GP records can include diagnoses that were coded but never explicitly discussed with you, sensitive mental health, family planning, or sexual health notes, clinical observations you don’t remember being told, or information from referral letters you never saw. This is normal - records are written for clinical purposes, not for you to read. You can pause or stop reading your record at any point. If anything concerns you, speak to a qualified healthcare professional.

What if I change my mind halfway through?

You can withdraw consent at any point. If you decide to stop the process, we’ll delete any files we have and won’t continue.

Comparisons

Is it worth it, and why that amount?

It is a single fixed fee, paid once, after your organised record has been delivered: no subscription and no upsells. It covers the whole job - data collection, handwriting transcription, processing, delivery and aftercare. For the current fee, and for where it sits next to other things people in the UK readily pay for their health (private GP visits, scans, blood panels, insurance, treatment abroad), see the cost in context.

Can’t I just use the NHS App?

The NHS App is useful for day-to-day tasks like ordering prescriptions and seeing recent GP notes. But it only shows entries added since your practice enabled online access - not your historical record. It doesn’t include hospital records, specialist correspondence, or anything from private healthcare. And you can’t export or structure the data.

Chronicle Health retrieves your full GP record through a Subject Access Request - potentially decades of history - and organises it into something structured, searchable, and usable. For all four options side by side, see how it compares.

What about Patients Know Best?

Patients Know Best (PKB) is a good thing, and if your hospital or GP practice offers it, use it. It is the largest personal health record in the UK, it has been running since 2008, and it is free at the point of care because your hospital, health board or practice pays for it. When hospital records show up in the NHS App, PKB is often what you are looking at. Its design puts you in charge of who sees your record, which is the right principle.

It answers a different question from ours, in two ways.

• It shows recent and ongoing care; we assemble the whole history. PKB fills up from the feeds your providers send it, so it effectively begins when your organisation switched it on. One NHS trust puts it plainly: “You will see the last two years of appointments and letters.” The GP data flowing in is summary-level too, typically allergies, medications, diagnoses and demographics, rather than the decades of consultations, letters and scanned paper sitting in your full file. We request that full file, transcribe the handwriting, and organise all of it.
• It is a record you sign in to; ours is files you hold. Your PKB record lives on the platform and is filled by the organisations connected to it. PKB says so directly: “What you see in your record is what your healthcare provider has decided to share with you”, and “the data you see, and the features you can use, vary depending on how your healthcare provider utilises the platform”. What we deliver is your record as open files on your own device, with no account to sign in to and nothing that can be switched off at the other end.

The two go together rather than compete. PKB invites you to “add important information about your past medical history or any old clinical documentation”, and some NHS areas give you 10 GB to do it, so a Chronicle Pack is a sensible thing to put in there. Treat PKB as the live view of the care your connected providers are giving you now, and your Chronicle Pack as the complete history underneath it, in your own hands.

Isn’t the NHS building its own single patient record?

Yes, and it is worth knowing what it will and will not do. The Single Patient Record (SPR) is part of the Health Bill (also called the NHS Modernisation Bill), which had its second reading in the House of Commons on 1 June 2026. It aims to join up the records the NHS already holds about you (GP, hospital, community, and social care) so that clinicians can see the same information wherever you are treated. The government expects clinicians to get improved access to joined-up records during 2027, patients in England to view a core set of their data through the NHS App from 2028, and the full record across all care pathways to reach the whole population only around 2030.

It is a welcome step for joined-up care, but it differs from what we do in three ways:

• NHS data in England only: It does not include private healthcare, overseas care, wearables, or lab results you commissioned yourself. We organise all of those alongside your GP record.
• A record you view, not files you own: The SPR is a shared NHS system you read through the app. Under the Bill, the Department of Health and the Secretary of State, alongside NHS England, would become data controllers for the data shared through it. What we deliver is your record as open, exportable files on your own device, independent of any NHS platform, that you keep wherever you go.
• A phased “core set” of current data: It is released pathway by pathway over several years. We retrieve your full GP record through a Subject Access Request now, potentially decades of history, including transcribed handwritten notes.

See how it compares for the full picture.

What about the NHS Palantir platform?

The NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) is designed for clinicians and administrators, not for patients to access their own records. It is a separate programme from the Single Patient Record described above, which is the part of the NHS’s plans aimed at patients. Neither changes what we do: both cover NHS data in England only, and neither hands you a complete, portable copy of your own record to keep.

How is this different from patient portals from private healthcare providers?

Provider portals show you the data they hold about you. We create your comprehensive health record built around your GP record, integrating any private provider data, wearable exports, or other sources you supply into a single, searchable, permanent record independent of any provider.

How is this different from Personal Health Record (PHR) apps?

Chronicle Health creates the record; we don’t sell software. PHR apps typically require manual data entry and store your data in their cloud. The better ones do receive NHS feeds (see Patients Know Best above), but what arrives is what the connected organisations choose to send, which is rarely your full history and never the paper. What we deliver is the organised record itself - as files on your own device, independent of any app or platform. See how it compares for the full side-by-side.

What if I move abroad? Will my health record still be useful?

Yes. Your health record is a set of files on your device - it goes wherever you go. See For You? for more on the relocation scenario.

Scope and Limitations

Is this a medical device?

No. Chronicle Health is a personal health data organisation service. It is not a medical device, not medical software, and not a substitute for clinical judgement. See the compliance page for the fuller regulatory position.

Do you offer software or a cloud service?

No. We don’t provide software to install or cloud platforms to subscribe to. See the How It Works page for details on what’s included and excluded.

Do you provide medical advice?

No. We organise and structure your health data - we don’t interpret it or provide medical guidance.

Can you provide a medical report for an employer or insurer?

No. We retrieve and organise a copy of the records held about you - we don’t write medical reports or interpret your records. Reports prepared for employment or insurance purposes fall under a separate law, the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988, and must be written by a doctor (usually your GP or an appointed medical examiner). Asking for a copy of records you already hold is a Subject Access Request, which is what we help with; asking for a new report or a clinical opinion goes beyond a SAR and is not something we offer.

Can you get records for my child, or for a relative who can’t request their own?

Not as standard. The service is currently designed for adults obtaining a copy of their own health records, so we don’t routinely act on someone else’s behalf - whether that is a child’s records or those of an adult who lacks the capacity to instruct us themselves (for example where you hold a Lasting Power of Attorney). These involve different legal routes and additional checks. That said, it is something we may be able to accommodate as the service develops. If it would be useful to you, please get in touch and tell us a little about the situation, and we can discuss whether and how we might help.

Can you get records for a relative who has died?

Not through this service. A Subject Access Request is a living person’s right to their own data. Access to a deceased person’s health records is governed by a different law, the Access to Health Records Act 1990, and is generally limited to the deceased’s personal representative (such as the executor or administrator of the estate) or someone with a claim arising from the death. That route sits outside what Chronicle Health does.

What if I have questions not covered here?

Get in touch. Every person’s health data situation is unique.

Complaints

I have a complaint. What should I do?

We take complaints seriously. Here is the process:

1. Contact us - Email hello@chroniclehealth.co.uk or message via WhatsApp with details of your concern
2. Acknowledgement - We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days
3. Investigation - We will investigate and provide a full response within 10 working days. If the matter requires more time, we will let you know and provide a revised timeframe
4. Resolution - We will propose a resolution and work with you to reach an outcome you are satisfied with
5. Escalation - If we cannot resolve the matter between us, you have the right to use the route that fits the nature of your concern:
   • Data protection: Contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113
   • Service quality: Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, request repeat performance if the service was not provided with reasonable care and skill. If we cannot agree a remedy, you may bring a claim in the small claims track of the County Court
   • Contractual matters: Use the dispute resolution process set out in the Terms of Service (informal resolution, then mediation via CEDR, then arbitration, then courts of England and Wales)