Electronic medical records secure, promises minister
Health Minister Lord Warner today sought to reassure patients that their medical records will be secure as the NHS goes electronic.
Next year will see the launch of a new NHS electronic database which aims to provide a single source of medical records.
The NHS Care Records Service will join together 30,000 GPs and 270 NHS trusts in a single computer base records system and aims to ensure that medical staff anywhere in the UK can view essential medical details.
Responding to concerns about privacy and confidentiality the Government today said that access to records would be strictly limited to staff who ‘need to know’ and patients will be able to request that sensitive information – such as records of sexually transmitted diseases – is not added to the database.
Patients can also opt-out of having their information viewable beyond the institution that originated it – for example their GP – but will be warned that this could impact on the quality of care they receive from other organisations.
Once the system is up and running there is the possibility that patients will be able to block off parts of their records so that they can only be accessed in the emergency.
Launching the guarantee today, Lord Warner said that the system would offer “enormous potential benefits” for patients and there would be “very strict controls” on those who have access to the database.
He added: “However, we recognise that some people may have particular concerns about how their personal health information will be kept confidential in the new system. We understand that, which is why we are today setting out clearly what they can expect from the NHS and their rights to control who has access to their personal information.
“These rules will be backed up with tough security measures to prevent unauthorised access to records, ensuring everyone can have confidence in the new system.”
Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said that whilst the guarantees were welcome, there were still problems with data protection.
Mr Lansley said: “Why is it necessary to put patients’ data all on the central server, rather than call it up from the local GP-based server when needed? The latter would at least ensure additional personal security when other NHS staff access an individual’s health record”.
