Why keep a treatment history?

Keeping your treatment history can help in many ways:

• To understand your health and treatment.
• If you change doctor or clinic.
• When speaking to other health workers or advocates.
• If you want a second opinion.
• If you meed care when on holiday or abroad, or if you move to another country.

Choices for future care are linked to your treatment history.

This includes your CD4 count, viral load and any drug resistance tests. It also includes HIV drugs (ART) and your reasons for changing. As ART improves you could need this record for 20 years or more. Whether new treatments work may depend on this history.

If you change clinic always check that your full medical records are forwarded. Make sure that you keep your GUM or clinic number from your old clinic too.

This booklet will help as a summary in all these situations. Your doctor can help fill in this book but it does not replace your medical notes.

All UK patients have the right to see their medical records. You can also make photocopies of them (usually for a small charge).

All pages from the Treatment Passport can be printed – best at A4 size. It is also available as a smaller booklet from i-Base. Please call 020 7407 848

Last updated: 10 January 2022.