Health Service Record Confidentiality

[Roger Hayter]

According to a recent Parliamentary answer by Dan Poulter (Health Minister), if you opt out your data will not be sold or given to anyone outside the NHS in identifiable form. *But* it will still be centrally collected, stored and collated with new information, it will still be available for the police to investigate 'serious crime', and probably it will still be available for sale to commercial/research parties in pseudo-anonymised form.   You can make your own assumptions from known law and practice about GCHQ.  There was a rumour that the pseudo-anonymised stuff would *include* NHS number, but this is so silly it may be disinformation.

-- 

Roger Hayter


On 7 Feb 2014, at 18:25, Peter Tomlinson <pwt at iosis.co.uk> wrote:

> A leaflet came through my letterbox this week (the same day that I went off to one of those NHS independent contractor minor procedure units [1] to have a stubborn molar removed by their dental surgeon - he is, of course, not a white anglo saxon protestant (or catholic or..), but likely from Egypt and did a brilliant job, as did the rest of the team).
> 
> NHS is the badge of the leaflet, 'Better information means better care' is the banner. It refers me to:
> 
> - NHS Choices web site
> 
> - 'staff at your GP practice'
> 
> - 0300 456 3531 (nothing about any call costs)
> 
> - 'More details about how we look after confidential information and how it may be used can be found on the website at www.hscic.gov.uk/patientconf'
> 
> It asks 'Do I need to do anything?. The answer is nothing if I'm happy for my infomation to be shared. And the vital but naked statement "And you can change your mind at any time".
> 
> So its opt in by default.
> 
> Peter
> 
> [1] 'minor' indeed - in the waiting room I found their poster for their fast track hip replacement jobs.
> 
> On 07/02/2014 16:44, Ian Batten wrote:
>> It seems to be coming from all angles, doesn't it?
> 
> 
>