The government must protect patient privacy

Before the last general election, the now Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley announced that an incoming Conservative government would "dismantle" the Summary Care Record database of our medical data.

Sadly, the coalition government performed a disgraceful u-turn less than a month after they took office and declared they would continue building the SCR after all.

Not content with building a vast database of personal medical information which could be accessed by thousands of people, the Telegraph this morning reports the British Medical Association's concerns about new legislation which would hand the Government, quangos and local authorities the power to access sensitive medical details without the patient’s permission". 

As a result of the coalition's health reforms, it has been deemed necessary by central government to allow scores of new bodies access to patient information.  Indeed, as drafted, the legislation would allow the Secretary of State to access "such information as he feels necessary to have" with the NHS Commissioning Board, NHS Information Centre and local authorities all having access to personal data for the purposes of conducting what is opaquely-termed "research".

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the head of science and ethics at the BMA, claimed that “if this legislation is enacted then doctors will not be able to guarantee patient confidentiality. It would undermine the bond of trust between doctors and their patients and could have appalling consequences".

It's quite simple: personal medical data should not be shared with third parties without the prior permission of the patient in question. 

Comments

[whathappenedtoconfidentiality?]

This is outrageous - I already share limited health data with my doctors or health professionals because of data protection breaches. If this is not changed then I guess the only option is for me to opt out of the NHS altogether (will I no longer have to pay for the NHS I wonder?) and opt for private medical care totally (under an assumed name of course)

[BillyBloggs]

Keep your nosey fscking hands off my data, I withdraw any and all implied consent and permissions for unathorised processing of my data. Will that make a difference? With these moronic control freak dickheads, its a big NO then, they will press on regardless,