Britain's medical fraternity has condemned the
government'splans to share data, including medical
records across Whitehall and has asked for a meeting with ministers
to have medical records exempted.
Eight organisations that represent Britain's doctors, nurses and
medical academics, led by the
British Medical Association,
yesterday asked justice minister Jack Straw to exempt patient
records from the government's data sharing legislation in a bill
now in committee.
In a joint letter they expressed "grave concerns" about Clause
152 of the
Coroners and Justice Bill. They said the clause appeared to
grant the government unprecedented powers to access people's
confidential medical records, and share them with third
parties.
The organisations said this would "undermine the presumption of
confidentiality, corrode trust in the doctor-patient relationship
and could have a disastrous impact on both the health of
individuals and the public."
The letter also raised concerns about the potential impact on
broader health policy issues, warning that it could undermine
confidence in the NHS Care Records Service.
Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of council at the BMA, said,
"The doctor-patient relationship is based on trust. If patients
cannot be 100% sure that their records are confidential, they will
inevitably be reluctant to share vital information with their
doctor.
According to Meldrum, Straw had said he was willing to change
the law to protect a person's right to confidentiality. Meldrum
said the medical profession welcomed this and hoped the minister
would exempt confidential health information.
The eight organisations were the BMA, the Royal College of
General Practitioners, the Royal College of Surgeons, the Royal
College of Nursing, the Medical Protection Society, the Medical
Defence Union, the Faculty of Public Health, and the Academy of
Medical Royal Colleges.
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Read the full letter here