Your official electronic record and your own health app: what goes where

Across the UK and the US, more health documents live online than ever, and many people now ask the same question: where does my information actually belong? In the official electronic record, in a folder at home, or in an app on their own phone? The short answer is that these are different things that serve different purposes. In Sam, your own copy of letters and lab results sits in the Health Vault, separate from the official record, sorted by category and practice, like a tidy folder you always have with you.

The official record is kept by the people who treat you. In England that is your GP record, which you can view through the NHS App or your surgery's online services if your practice offers them. Wales has its own NHS Wales App, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have different arrangements, so ask your GP practice. In the US it is the patient portal run by your practice, hospital or clinic, where under the HIPAA rule you have a right to see and get a copy of your health records. A private health app is what you keep for yourself and take to the appointment. Both can work together; they just have different jobs. This text is general information, not medical or legal advice.

What the official record is

In England, your GP record holds information a GP practice adds over time. The Patients Association describes what goes into medical records: laboratory reports, letters, prescription charts, clinical notes and x-rays. Your GP record also includes medicines, vaccines and test results, and communication between your GP and other services, such as referral letters and discharge summaries.

In the US, the equivalent lives in electronic health records kept by hospitals, clinics and insurers. The patient portal is the online gateway to yours. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) says patients should have secure, convenient access to their health information.

What your own health app holds

A health app such as Sam holds what happens between appointments. How often your symptoms came, how you slept, which days you were off sick, and in the programs for specific conditions how your medicine went. That is not in the official record until you put it there.

The point of a personal diary is different from the point of a clinic record. The clinic record is written by professionals. Your diary is written by you, about your days, and it can fill gaps that a ten-minute visit never covers.

The key difference: who keeps it up to date

This is the honest core of it. The official record is your record, but you are not the one who updates it. Most of what lands there is added after a treatment or a visit. It falls to the practice, hospital or clinic to keep it current.

Your own app is the opposite. You are the one who enters the entries, so it is as current as you make it. That is exactly its value: a running picture of your everyday life that follows you to the next visit.

What you can put in the official record yourself

You can influence the record more than many people think. In England, you can view your GP record through the NHS App or your surgery's online services, and you can ask for your records in writing, free of charge. In the US, some providers accept home readings through their portal or by message. Whether you can add information depends on the service, so ask at the practice or in the portal.

Your own notes and readings are still safest in your own place, because that is where you can always find them and take them with you. See getting a copy of your medical records for how to ask when you change practice.

Who sees the official record

Your records are confidential. In the UK you have a legal right to see your own records, and accessing them is free under data protection law. In the US, ONC describes patients' rights to access their records under HIPAA, and provider encouragement strongly boosts how often people use their portal.

The people involved in your care can see what they need to look after you, and other uses generally need your permission or a legal basis. You can ask your practice or provider who has access to your record, and how sharing works is worth asking about.

Keeping letters and results together

Paper has one weakness: it sits at home when you need it. The common compromise is a photo in the camera roll, which no one finds three months later. A better option is a folder sorted by category and practice instead of by date.

The Health Vault in Sam is built for that: lab results, letters, vaccine records and imaging reports lie there sorted by category and the practice that treated you. You scan them with the camera, add photos or files, and Sam files them by kind. Then the original is ready to share at the appointment.

The official record and your diary are not rivals. The ten minutes in the surgery do not improve when you try to remember the last three months. They improve when you arrive with a clear overview. For the day-to-day picture, you can log symptoms and sleep in Sam's symptom diary too.

What Sam is and is not

Sam is not connected to the NHS, to the NHS App, or to US patient portals, and it does not replace them. If you are looking for your official record, you will find it only at your provider. Sam is the everyday record you keep yourself and take to the appointment, so the two cover different ground.

Bringing a current list of what you take helps too: see our guide to the medication list to bring to your doctor. Whatever you keep, what a result means for you is always a conversation with your care team.

Keep letters, results and your daily notes in Sam

You have letters, lab results and your days between appointments in one place and take both to the visit.

• Instead of a pile of paper: scan letters and results with the camera, choose photos or add files, and the Health Vault files them by kind and practice.
• Instead of memory: log symptoms with severity and date in the symptom diary, and sick days with one tap.
• Instead of loose notes: the monthly report you create gives your symptoms their own page, as a PDF to print or show.

Sam is not connected to the NHS or to patient portals and does not replace them.

Try Sam for free

Sam is a wellness companion, not a medical device. The app does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition or health state. Always consult qualified professionals for medical decisions.

Related reading

• Getting a copy of your medical records when you change doctor
• Medication list to bring to your doctor
• Doctor visit checklist for a chronic condition

General information, not legal advice. Laws, deadlines and agency practice change, and your case may differ. Before applications, deadlines and conversations with employers, insurers or agencies, get advice from an adviser or lawyer. Legal state: October 2026.

Sources

Updated: October 2026

• The Patients Association: How to see your medical records in England (updated 13 March 2026)
• NHS: NHS App
• Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ASTP/ONC): Patient Access to Health Records
• eCFR: 45 CFR 164.524, Access of individuals to protected health information
• eCFR: 45 CFR 164.502, general rules on uses and disclosures and 164.506, treatment, payment and health care operations
• Digital Health and Care Wales: Access to patient records, NHS Wales App
• ASTP/ONC: Individuals' Access and Use of Patient Portals and Smartphone Health Apps, 2024 (Data Brief 77, July 2025)