ID cards: discretion will be needed on healthcare access
If national ID cards are used to control access to NHS care, doctors will need some discretion to treat people who fall outside the eligibility criteria, two authors warn this week. Writing in the British Medical Journal, Julian Sheather, ethics adviser at the British Medical Association, and north London GP, Iona Heath, say: “If identity […]
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Minister upbeat on ID card benefits for NHS
Health minister, John Hutton, says ID cards will help NHS staff check whether patients are eligible to receive treatment and deter people who abuse the UK’s healthcare resources. Hutton gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee this week as controversy flared around the government’s plans to speed up the introduction of ID cards. […]
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ID cards on the way for healthcare entitlement
The government published plans published this week making clear that it wants to introduce identity cards which will be used eventually to establish entitlement to free healthcare and deter so-called health tourists. The Home Office plan, Identity Cards: the next steps, foresees the introduction of the health entitlement element of the scheme in the second phase […]
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Home Office to Consult on Smart ID Cards
The Home Office is to publish proposals to introduce identity cards in the UK, based on smart card technology, with Home Secretary David Blunkett expected to announce a six month public consultation on the proposals. Introducing national ID cards was floated by the Home Office in the aftermath of September 11 as a potential guard […]
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