ContactPoint ‘suffers security breaches’
The children’s database ContactPoint has suffered at least three security breaches since its launch, according to an investigation by a national newspaper. The Daily Telegraph has reported that Freedom of Information Act requests submitted to local authorities already running ContactPoint revealed security breaches in three local authorities last year. The newspaper said its investigations found […]
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NIGB launches social care guarantee
The National Information Governance Board has launched its Social Care Record Guarantee, setting out patients’ rights on confidentiality and consent for both paper and electronic records. The Guarantee is intended to complement the Care Record Guarantee used by the health service since 2005. It has been devised by the NIGB, an independent statutory body which […]
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PDS access requires ‘business reason’
Staff accessing the Personal Demographics Service must have an appropriate ‘business reason’ for doing so, but need not have a legitimate relationship with a patient, according to NHS Connecting for Health. The Department of Health’s IT agency has published new guidance on managing access to the PDS, which sets out rules for access and the action […]
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GMC issues confidentiality guidance
Fresh guidance on confidentiality has been published by the General Medical Council, with advice on topics including sharing confidential genetic information and disclosing identifiable patient data for Quality and Outcomes Framework checks. The revised guidance, which comes into effect on 12 October, covers the principles of confidentiality that doctors are expected to follow and takes […]
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GP raises concern about PDS security
Renewed concerns have been raised about the security of the Personal Demographics Service after a GP was able to access details of colleagues and staff without being detected. Dr Paul Golik, a GP in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and secretary of North Staffordshire Local Medical Committee, told the GP magazine Pulse that he had accessed his own […]
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GP bodies clash on SCR
The Royal College of General Practitioners has publicly backed the Summary Care Record following criticism of its consent model by GP representatives from the British Medical Association. Professor Steve Field and Dr Clare Gerada, chair and vice chair of the RCGP, have written to the BMJ. arguing that the need for a shared record is […]
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GPs urged to be ‘constantly alert’ on privacy
GPs have been advised to be “constantly alert” to potential threats to patient confidentiality and privacy as their representatives back an opt-in model for data sharing. This week’s National Local Medical Committees’ conference supported a five point motion which backed GPs role as data holder for patient records, called for an opt-in approach to transfer […]
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Mind that child
Dr David Low, consultant paediatrician and national clinical lead for paediatrics and child health at NHS Connecting for Health, discusses the importance of child records.
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Consent back on LMCs’ agenda
Grassroots GPs are to return to the debate for an opt-in approach to the transfer of patient identifiable data and argue that implied consent is insufficient for the release of information on named patients. The outcome of the debate at next month’s national Local Medical Committees’ conference will be a sign of the current feeling […]
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Four more organisations breach DPA
The Information Commissioner’s Office has taken enforcement action against another four NHS organisations, taking the number rapped for data breaches to 14 in six months. Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Central Lancashire, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust, and Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust have become the latest organisations to sign […]
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