The following notes have been prepared by the Chairman of the BMA Professional Fees Committee. The purpose of is to explain the various tasks, which are normally undertaken by a GP practice when a request for a non-NHS report is received. These steps are as follows:

1. Mail to be opened by Secretary
2. Correspondence to be read by Secretary to check that all relevant paperwork has actually arrived
3. Check that patients consent, where appropriate is signed
4. Log the arrival of the document in the Practice System
5. Notes to be searched, pulled and married up with the information request
6. Records and request to be allocated to a doctor
7. Doctor to assimilate contents of request, confirm patient consent to divulge if in order
8. Ascertain whether or not the Access to Medical reports, Data Protection Act or Access to Health Records Act, applies
9. Read the entire general practitioner notes and the entire hospital letters and laboratory results contained within the patient record
10. Formulate appropriate reply, either in writing or by dictation
11. Records (if manually held) and draft response to be returned to Secretary
12. Type report us as draft
13. Notes (if manually held) back to doctor together with draft for checking and amendment
14. Notes (if manually held) and amended draft back to Secretary
15. Typing up of final report
16. Notes (if manually held) and final report back to doctor for checking and signature
17. Notes (if manually held) back to Secretary
18. Photocopies to be kept in practice record system
19. Report to be held for 21 days in accordance with Access to Medical Records Act or similar
20. Make diary entry of bring forward date to post completed report
21. Complete payment claim form, log out date of postage or report to relevant authority
22. Chase the payment, if appropriate
23. Receive either payment schedule form requesting authority and reconcile with bank statement, or receive payable order/cheque and arrange banking

As can be seen, there are a considerable number of administrative, financial and legal duties consistent with the professional processing of any request for a report coming in to a practice. The above 23 points assume that at no point does the patient either need to be seen clinically, or request, as is their right under the various legislation, access to the report or the notes. Nor do any of the above take any account of archiving costs consequent upon the generation of any report. Consequently, an appropriate administration charge in view of the above is not an unreasonable request before the professional time and expertise is also taken in to account in producing the report.