Doctors to see closed e-records.

Clinicians anywhere in England will be able to access summary care records - even for patients who choose to restrict access to their data, Connecting for Health has admitted.

The NHS IT agency believes measures to protect patient data strike the right balance between allowing rapid access where appropriate and security, but some GPs remain unconvinced.

Under the system, GPs or consultants will be able to override access restrictions put in place by patients by claiming they have a 'legitimate relationship', and that the patient has allowed access.

A separate mechanism also al-lows clinicians access to records if they claim this is 'in the public …