Confidential medical information of around 700,000 patients is being shared, despite them opting out of the ‘care.data’ programme.
The scheme aimed to collect medical data about patients throughout England in order to improve care standards.
Patients had the opportunity to ‘opt out’, meaning information about them could not be shared with third parties at any point.
The programme was aborted before its launch in March 2014 due to fears that those who objected would be denied access to medical screening and treatments.
However, the information commissioner has continued to sell medical data to insurers and other parties.
It has now been revealed that this includes data about the 700,000 patients who objected to the practice, regardless of their wishes.
Kingsley Manning, chairman of the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), has said the organisation “does not currently have the resources or processes to handle such a significant level of objections.”
Peers have called for an official investigation into what they called a “worrying situation”.
The HSCIC has admitted the issue “may take some time” to resolve.
Government minister Baroness Chishold said that “in the interim, for anybody who has registered a data-sharing objection with their GP, the HSCIC has taken the practical decision not to collect any identifiable GP data about that person for purposes beyond their own direct care.”
Dr Beth McCarron-Nash, from the General Practitioners Committee, described the situation as “a mess”.
Medical negligence solicitors
If you would like to talk to a medical negligence solicitor about the care you have received from a GP, hospital or other medical professional, please contact us today.
Share Article With:
|
|
|
|
|
|
