(Fwd) R.I.P. and NHSNet

[M.Wells@leeds.ac.uk]

I am forwarding this inot UKCRYPTO, in the hope that someone 
can answer Mary Hawking's list of rather frightening questions.

Mike Wells
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date sent:      	Mon, 31 Jul 2000 08:13:39 +0100
Subject:        	R.I.P. and NHSNet
From:           	Mary Hawking <maryhawking@tigers.demon.co.uk>
To:             	gp-uk@mailbase.ac.uk, wisdom-informatics@mailbase.ac.uk,
       	PCGIT@Schin.NCL.AC.UK
Send reply to:  	gp-uk@mailbase.ac.uk

Thinking about the RIP Act, confidentiality of medical records if
transfered electronically and NHSNet, could someone enlighten me?

Does the Act refer only to the Internet or does it apply also to
intranets?

Is NHSNet an internet service provider? or is it an intranet?

If it *is* an intranet, is encrypted email, carrying confidential
patient information, travelling between two NHSNet addresses subject to
the same police  investigatory procedures as encrypted email travelling
across the internet?

To preserve a possibility of patient confidentiality, are we going to
have to foreswear email?

MaryH


-- 
Mary Hawking
Kingsbury Court Surgery Church Street Dunstable Beds LU5 4RS
tel 01582 663218
fax 01582 476488