GPs warn over plans to share patient data with third parties in England

[Northerner]

Doctors have warned that plans to pool medical records on to a database and share them with third parties could erode the relationship between them and patients.

It came as the Royal College of GPs wrote to NHS Digital urging it to better communicate with the public about the plans and their options for opting out.

Critics have voiced concerns over the NHS Digital plans, which would put the medical histories of more than 55 million patients into a database available to academic and commercial third parties for research and planning purposes.

Privacy campaigners have already spoken out against the proposals, which include sharing anonymised mental and sexual health data, criminal records, and more sensitive information. The records would be scraped from every patient in England registered to a GP clinic by NHS Digital, which runs the country’s healthcare IT systems.

GPs warn over plans to share patient data with third parties in England

Doctors say NHS Digital’s proposals could erode the relationship between them and their patients

www.theguardian.com

I do not trust the government to successfully anonymise the data, it is a disaster in the making Remember the 'game-changing' app that never worked? Track and Trace? There are countless examples of government systems that have turned out to be extremely flawed, and patient data is too important to mess with, the implications of a breach are enormous

 

[Jojo catwoman]

Completely agree Northerner. The Gov should be concentrating on getting patients the treatment they need and have been waiting for

 

[mikeyB]

Whether or not there are possibilities for a breach, and there is no faith in the anonymity, you have to wonder the motives behind the scheme. Is it to the benefit of the patients? No, I can't think of any. Is it to the benefit of the NHS planners? No, their only real concern is hospital usage. They already know this. Is it something dreamed up by the NHS to assist their care? No.

So who could it benefit? The answer is the big American private medicine companies who want to get a proper handle on costings to inform their bids for the service. Data is money.

 

[Northerner]

Whether or not there are possibilities for a breach, and there is no faith in the anonymity, you have to wonder the motives behind the scheme. Is it to the benefit of the patients? No, I can't think of any. Is it to the benefit of the NHS planners? No, their only real concern is hospital usage. They already know this. Is it something dreamed up by the NHS to assist their care? No.

So who could it benefit? The answer is the big American private medicine companies who want to get a proper handle on costings to inform their bids for the service. Data is money.

Apropos that very point...

The Guardian view on medical records: NHS data grab needs explaining | Editorial

Editorial: In England, ministers’ plans to suck up GP records need to be scrapped and restarted with a proper debate about their use and privacy implications

www.theguardian.com

 

[Ralph-YK]

would put the medical histories of more than 55 million patients into a database available to academic and commercial third parties for research and planning purposes.

There's possibly a reasonable reason to share for academic/medical research. For commercial third parties is more dubious.

The records would be scraped from every patient in England registered to a GP clinic by NHS Digital, which runs the country’s healthcare IT systems.

There's different systems in use, so could be issues doing the job. Not a lot in trust in government projects. When it's handed to outside companies it can be worse.

NHS has had years had long enough time to set up patient access to records. There's still us those who get nothing. Should sort one use before fail on the next one.

 

[mikeyB]

I'll certainly be opting out. Or at least attempting to. I'm not at all sure my practice staff will know anything about this plan anyway.

I think that is what the government is depending on - apathy. That's why they've slipped this plan in to occur at almost the exact time that Johnson plans release everyone from Covid restrictions. People will be too busy to notice.

And finally, name me another country that has this kind of data on its citizens.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I'll certainly be opting out. Or at least attempting to. I'm not at all sure my practice staff will know anything about this plan anyway.

I think that is what the government is depending on - apathy. That's why they've slipped this plan in to occur at almost the exact time that Johnson plans release everyone from Covid restrictions. People will be too busy to notice.

And finally, name me another country that has this kind of data on its citizens.

The vast data is a big part of why it would be so valuable (in scientific and in health terms) if they didn't screw it up. But it looks very much like Care.data all over again, only the lesson they learned from that screwup is that it's better just not to talk about it and not to ask patients. It's very much what I'd expect from this government and health secretary, sadly.

Care.data is in chaos. It breaks my heart | Ben Goldacre

Ben Goldacre: Medical data has huge power to do good, but it presents risks too. When leaked, it cannot be unleaked. When lost, public trust cannot be easily regained

www.theguardian.com

 

[trophywench]

Well now with only 23 days for me to opt out if I wish to - where is the info on how to do it?

 

[Ljc]

Well now with only 23 days for me to opt out if I wish to - where is the info on how to do it?

Precisely, I would like to know so u can opt out .

 

[goodybags]

it sounds wrong, initially when I heard of this on the news
was thinking I like it when different members of my healthcare team can see my records,
but now kind of realising that’s not what it about ?
still a bit confusing & concerned
so will be opting out, I think

 

[Ljc]

I did a quick search in my Gp practice online and found a link to this.

Choose if data from your health records is shared for research and planning

Find out how data from your health records can help with research and planning, and choose if you want to share your data.

www.nhs.uk

I have not read through t yet but thought it might help those of us who may want to opt out atm I am not sure it’s even the right one for these plans .

 

[mikeyB]

I’ve read through the data opt out on the NHS link. It refers to data being stored on cloud servers in the EU, so it’s clearly been on the go for some years. It also says you can opt out at any time, and tells you how to do it.