Health Service Record Confidentiality

[Mary Hawking]

You'll be opted in unless you opt out
I put together a bit of information for family-and-friends 
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4529244/Info%20care.data%20Jan2014.doc 
Shades of 1995 and 2002..
It would have been useful if the GPs had been given any real information
other than a letter around August last year saying it was going to happen in
8 weeks and it was *their* responsibility to inform their patients!

Mary Hawking
Retired from NHS on 31.3.13 because of the Health and Social Care Act 2012
"thinking - independent thinking - is to humans as swimming is to cats: we
can do it if we really have to."  Mark Earles on Radio 4
blog http://maryhawking.wordpress.com/ And Fred! 
http://primaryhealthinfo.wordpress.com/2013/11/02/freds-saying-you-just-dont
-get-it/  

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Tomlinson [mailto:pwt at iosis.co.uk] 
Sent: 07 February 2014 18:26
To: UK Cryptography Policy Discussion Group
Subject: Re: Health Service Record Confidentiality

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?