Fewer than 1% of patients have so far refused to have a summary patient care record contained in the NHS Spine database, says the government.
In response to a parliamentary question, health minister Ben Bradshaw said that up to 30 April, 614,000 adult patients had been sent an information pack about summary care records.
He said, of these, just 5,000 "have indicated to their general practitioner or to the primary care trust their wish not to have a summary care record."
The Department of Health will use the figures to illustrate that there is a need for a centralised electronic record of basic data on individual patients' care.
Privacy campaigners say the public should be able to choose whether to opt into the database scheme, rather than opt out.
