Spinney
Bimbleur extraordinaire
- Location
- Back up north
Just got a letter from the local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, also badged by the county council, saying my medical records are going to be 'joined up' unless I choose to opt out. There is a letter outlining the benefits, which seem reasonable on the face of it.
Part of the data protection blurb in the accompanying 'newsletter' styled thing with it says the info will only be available to authorised local health and social care professionals and will never be passed on to anyone else. The more formal letter adds '... unless we have your consent or it is allowed by law.' - which doesn't quite seem the same thing to me. The 'unless we have your consent' bit sounds like there may be others they share it with in the future, and if that consent is obtained in the same way that this is (i.e. you have to opt out rather than opt in), I don't find that very reassuring. And what if the law is changed to make it allowable to share with third parties (ring ring... hello, we hear you have problem with X... our new medical product is proven to ....)?
Am I being too suspicious? It's not the doctors/nurses etc I don't trust, it's the politicians and the private firms that may well end up running the NHS, the way things are going.
And as a final rant, stating on the 'how wonderful this idea is' letter is the statement that 97% of patients at two pilot scheme practices in the county consented is not a reason to sign up...that's just manipulation....
Part of the data protection blurb in the accompanying 'newsletter' styled thing with it says the info will only be available to authorised local health and social care professionals and will never be passed on to anyone else. The more formal letter adds '... unless we have your consent or it is allowed by law.' - which doesn't quite seem the same thing to me. The 'unless we have your consent' bit sounds like there may be others they share it with in the future, and if that consent is obtained in the same way that this is (i.e. you have to opt out rather than opt in), I don't find that very reassuring. And what if the law is changed to make it allowable to share with third parties (ring ring... hello, we hear you have problem with X... our new medical product is proven to ....)?
Am I being too suspicious? It's not the doctors/nurses etc I don't trust, it's the politicians and the private firms that may well end up running the NHS, the way things are going.
And as a final rant, stating on the 'how wonderful this idea is' letter is the statement that 97% of patients at two pilot scheme practices in the county consented is not a reason to sign up...that's just manipulation....