bye bye ViaCode

[Adrian Midgley]

On Sunday 09 June 2002 12:13 pm, you wrote:

> If a hospital department were to have asked your surgery to send
> them my notes I suggest that you would have sent them,=20

Actually, no.

> addressed to the
> department and without even the precaution of making a return call to t=
he
> department first (for the purpose of confirming that the requests was
> (probably) genuine. I'd think that was appropriate and professional
> behaviour, would it not be?

Under some circumstances, and with either the knowledge that they were=20
involved in your care becuase I had referred you or through some unusual=20
sequence of events, I'd send copies of some parts or a precis.

> So why the great fuss because of electronic storage and transmission an=
d
> the use of cipher by way of an envelope?

Because we have a duty of confidentiality laid upon us by the GMC, which =
is=20
trying to demonstrat it has balls at present, and also various pressures =
by=20
the DoH who as we all know would find it easier to have all notes open to=
=20
everyone working in the NHS.

> Within an organisation, centralised management of keys has major
> advantages and are the way to go.

For me the orgnaisation is my practice. =20
For the Secretary of State it may well be the entire NHS and all its=20
contractors.
For various other people between us it will be a hospital, a group of=20
practices, Exeter and environs, the South West Region, everyone looking a=
fter=20
paitnets with ischemic heart disease in Engand and Wales.  etc.

Bit wooly.

> I would suggest that its practitioners need seek no higher
> standards in security that they exercised before electronic systems cam=
e
> into their lives.

GMC seems to view it differently.
I am unsure what view to take, but tend to think that sending plain text=20
notes around elctronically is less safe for me than sending them as paper=
,=20
however there are noticeable benefits to be had from keeping them electro=
nic=20
rahter than retyping them.  To me, to my colleagues, and to patients.

--=20
=46rom one of the Linux desktops of Dr Adrian Midgley=20
http://www.defoam.net/            =20