New:Health and Social Care Information Centre!

kestrelx · 26-08-2014, 16:45

Did you know that earlier this year the government allowed the Health and Social Care Information Centre (which is not the NHS)
to access your medical files and take a copy including name, address and age. This will be used for research and also sold to external companies (insurance companies) for various reasons and can even be accessed by the police with out your consent, even if you opted out.

Did you opt out? My GP Surgery had a leaflet at the front desk which stated "a letter was sent in the post informing the public of this" - but I never recieved any letter! Where you informed? Does it matter to you that 3rd parties can now have information about your medical history?

Police will have 'backdoor' access to health records despite opt-out, says MP | Society | The Guardian

taddy · 26-08-2014, 18:56

My wife and I opted out by filling in a form at our G.Ps surgery, whether this will make a difference is at best debatable.

Margaret Pilkington · 26-08-2014, 19:10

Yes it does matter who has access to our medical records.
We opted out, even though we were discouraged from doing so at the practice.

accyman · 28-08-2014, 00:21

it wont be long before the crooked b4stards know what you had for breakfast before you have even eaten it

in answer to te question i was in no way shape or form informed about this by my GP or the practice but then again it takes nearly a year to see teh doctor your registered with and 2 weeks notice is required upon death to ensure someone turns up who can spot if your brathing or not

kestrelx · 30-08-2014, 15:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by accyman

it wont be long before the crooked b4stards know what you had for breakfast before you have even eaten it

in answer to te question i was in no way shape or form informed about this by my GP or the practice but then again it takes nearly a year to see teh doctor your registered with and 2 weeks notice is required upon death to ensure someone turns up who can spot if your brathing or not

Well we were supposed to have been sent an official information letter from the HSCIC giving us notice of this going to happen but I never recieved one. I suspect they were all "lost in the post!" as they want to have access to our information regardless of what we think. OK they say it will help with improving health services but why then do they need our names, addresses?

cashman · 01-09-2014, 13:17

Just been in our Docs n cancelled fer me n the boss, had no form to fill in, they just made note on computer, cheers Kes.

Margaret Pilkington · 01-09-2014, 13:33

I received no information through the post...it was only what i read in News articles and on here.
The HSCIC was supposed to be up and running in March of this year, but it was so badly handled that the government had to postpone the launch for six months.
When I went into the practice to ask for us to be kept off this list, they seemed poorly educated about the thing too.