NHS plans to sell patients' records in Britain

[Carol2000]

PLEASE READ THIS IT IS IMPORTANT
No doubt if you are a member living in Britain you will have received the NHS leaflet through your door claiming "Better Information means better Care" which wants you to allow the NHS to make sure your medical information is readily available so that the NHS can manage your health care better.

Apparently, that's what they would like you to think. But instead of addressing the information to you and sending it by post, they have sent the leaflet out with the junk mail, presumably  in the hope you will automatically toss it in the bin. This is because if you do nothing you will automatically allow them to use your information.

According to The Guardian newspaper, the whole thing is just a ruse to enable the NHS to make patient data available for sale to drug and insurance firms.
Here's their story

This also makes very interesting reading. It's from a GP giving his opinion on why you should opt out

Now, if you decide you would really like to opt out, go to here

I am not trying to tell you what to do because I am no expert, but having read through the links I will certainly be opting out.


Caroline

[Jamie D]

This is crazy.

[lilacwoman]

Actually I am in favour of the NHS allowing access to anonymised records as at the end of the day we are just humans and nothing w suffer from has not been suffered by other people.

If access allows the drug companies to collate evidence of their drugs then maybe we may get some benefits.

[Carol2000]

Actually I am in favour of the NHS allowing access to anonymised records as at the end of the day we are just humans and nothing w suffer from has not been suffered by other people.

If access allows the drug companies to collate evidence of their drugs then maybe we may get some benefits.

You obviously haven't read the personal views of Dr Neil Bhatia, GP and Caldicott Guardian for the Oaklands Practice in Yateley - especially this section:

    It is a myth that care.data is completely anonymous - it is not.
    You cannot object to your NHS information being shared in an anonymised way. That's why there are two opt-outs from care.data - because your data:
       will not be anonymised or de-identified before it is extracted and uploaded from your GP records
        will not be anonymised once uploaded and combined into your care.data record
        can and will be released in an indentifiable (non-anonymised) form to organisations, for both research and non research purposes
    Sensitive and identifiable information is going be extracted from your GP records and uploaded to Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) databases
    Sensitive and identifiable information has already been extracted, and will continue to be extracted from your hospital records and uploaded to HSCIC databases
    You will not be asked for your permission before these extractions take place
    The two sets of your information will be combined into one database and subsequently released, in various forms, to organisations within and outside of the NHS, for the purposes of administration, healthcare planning and research
    The information is not going to be available to doctors and nurses, and so will not be used to provide direct medical care
    The HSCIC will keep your uploaded information indefinitely - it will never be deleted, but continuously added to
    Opting out, with either or both of the opt-out options, is the only way to have any control at over how the HSCIC use, or will use, your personal data
    Your GP surgery cannot stop this extraction - but you, as an individual, can
    care.data is voluntary - you are under no obligation to allow your records to be processed in this way, and you have the right to opt-out
    You can prevent the extraction of identifiable data from your GP records by asking your GP surgery to put a special code in your GP records
    You can prevent the release of your identifiable data from the HSCIC by asking your GP surgery to put an additional special code in your GP records
    You cannot prevent the HSCIC from releasing information about you in anonymised, aggregated or pseudonymised formats (to ensure that, you must prevent the HSCIC from obtaining your information in the first place, by opting out now)
    If you opt-out of care.data (now), you can opt back in at any time in the future
    care.data is not the same as the Summary Care Record - opting out of one does not mean that you have automatically opted out of the other

You can control your GP records - if you know how.


You're entitled to your opinion and I respect that, Im just suggesting people should be aware of this information to make their own decision.

Caroline

[emilyking]

That's freaking crazy.
That kind of information should NEVER leave your doctor's offices.

[Eva Marie]

The potential for disaster is huge with this idea. Unfortunately by the time they have figured out all of the unintended consequences the cat will be long out of the bag.

[Danniella]

Bear in mind that this does not effect the entirety of Britain...

Thank god Scotland's NHS is a devolved power...more things pushing me to vote Yes for independence this year, the British government is systematically destroying and selling off the English NHS, it's a damned shame

[Carol2000]

This also makes very interesting reading. It's from a GP giving his opinion on why you should opt out.

I feel the need to repost this from my original post, because it is slightly inaccurate. This is not from a GP giving his opinion as to why you should opt out. It is from a GP who is simply giving the facts.

It is certainly worth reading because it makes clear that this harvesting of your personal medical information is in no way being done to benefit you, the patient. It appears to be so that money can be made out of your information.

Any thoughts you might have of seeing how it goes and possibly opting out later. . .Let's just say, you can't unring a bell.

Caroline