DH acts on private data
pharmafile | April 29, 2013 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | Hunt, NHS, data
The government has promised that patients will not be forced into having their personal health records shared by doctors and others if they do not want to.
“We must respect the wishes of the small number of people who would prefer not to share this information,” said health secretary Jeremy Hunt.
It is the first response by the government to the Caldicott Review into the impact and limitations of the sharing of patient data in health and social care services, and suggests a desire to give patients a say over how their details are used.
Dame Fiona Caldicott made 26 recommendations which are intended to balance the need for privacy with the benefits of disseminating information, to those who might usefully see it.
The coalition’s full response to the review will be made in the summer but for now Hunt’s line is that information and technology can have a beneficial effect on care, services and treatments – but only if the relationship of trust between a medical professional and their patient is respected.
“I firmly believe that technology can transform the quality of healthcare in this country, but we must always respect the fact that this is very personal information about an individual,” Hunt added.
To that end, any patient who does not want personal data held in their GP record to be shared with the Health and Social Care Information Centre will have their objection respected.
Furthermore, where personal data has already been shared from a GP practice to the centre, a patient will still be able to have the identifiable information removed.
Dame Fiona has said that there is sometimes a lack of understanding about the rules on data sharing and this can act as a barrier to exchanging information that would benefit the patient.
The inverse – that too much information is being disclosed – is also sometimes the case, she explained.
Recognising that there is a need for education, the government says the British Medical Association, NHS England and the Royal College of GPs will be raising public awareness so that people are informed of the changes and know how they can lodge an objection.
GPs must also understand the role they need to play in implementing this, Hunt said.
Dame Fiona, a veteran in this area, is to chair an independent panel to oversee and scrutinise implementation of the review’s recommendations and to provide advice on information governance issues.
Five ‘Caldicott principles’ have so far been identified:
- Every proposed use or transfer of personal confidential data within or from an organisation should be clearly defined, scrutinised and documented, with continuing uses regularly reviewed, by an appropriate guardian
- Don’t use personal confidential data unless it is absolutely necessary and the need for patients to be identified should be considered at each stage
- Where use of personal confidential data is considered to be essential, the inclusion of each individual item of data should be considered and justified so that the minimum amount of personal confidential data is transferred or accessible as is necessary for a given function to be carried out
- Only those individuals who need access to personal confidential data should have access to it, and they should only have access to the data items that they need to see
- Action should be taken to ensure that those handling personal confidential data – both clinical and non-clinical staff – are made fully aware of their responsibilities and obligations to respect patient confidentiality.
Adam Hill
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