The NHS Summarry care record

robgmun

robgmun

robgmun

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I got a letter through the post this weekend.

Despite already signing a form last year saying i wanted to opt out of having all my health records online i still got to opt out again

In essence if I don't reply (I assumed if I just throw my letter away) in 12 weeks they will then create a The NHS Summary care record in 12-18 months which at first contain only a small amount of data.

the idea over time is that they will add data until it is a complete health record of me. Which is accessed only by "authorised healthcare staff"

Seeing as I am thoroughly opposed to Labour authoritarian state and departments record of losing data, and I am reluctant to have my data held by a half assed IT project that has been poorly implemented. Would I really lose out years down the line when everybody else's data is online and they are treated easily while I am stuck with problem if I am in A&E and my data is not easily available?

I.e. should I just throw it away or should I stick to my guns and opt out again?
 
robgmun said:
I.e. should I just throw it away or should I stick to my guns and opt out again?
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stick to your guns & opt out again, otherwise, they will no doubt rationalise your lack of reply as a change of mind & opt you back in, as is ukgovs wont when it comes to such things.
 
I have chosen to opt in but only because I have an ongoing illness where having an instant record of it would be helpful in an emergency.
If I was 'normal' I would probably have opted out as I am not keen on all these databases either.
 
Why would you possibly want to opt out of this service? It is completely secure and requires a smart card, which will ONLY work on certain terminals, and a passcode, in order for a member of staff to access it.

It means wherever you go for treatment, staff can access your records to ensure you receive the best possible care for whatever is wrong with you.

Opting out just seems so utterly pointless and conspiracy theorist like.
 
Summary record is only between your local PCT / Hospital and your GP?

Whats the problem? Eventually it'll be accessible anywhere in the UK which is good is it not?

I don't know of anywhere else in the world who will have a system like this in existence.

It can only help imo.
 
[TW]Fox;16388253 said:
Why would you possibly want to opt out of this service? It is completely secure and requires a smart card, which will ONLY work on certain terminals, and a passcode, in order for a member of staff to access it.

It means wherever you go for treatment, staff can access your records to ensure you receive the best possible care for whatever is wrong with you.

Opting out just seems so utterly pointless and conspiracy theorist like.
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Sauce please? I didn't know about the smart card thing
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
I believe this is correct.
Problems with employment in the UK, lack of jobs for young folks, and we're outsourcing NHS work to India.
Nice touch.
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Surgeries scan the records, and have been for a number of years but local only. Thats what GP2GP is and more and more PCTS are using it.

It will never be outsourced like that.
 
I'd rather have my medical records stored in a secure, properly engineered system, accessed by those who need to access it than in their current form, which is what? paper based, sent via the post. I really don't understand why anyone would opt out of this.
 
LabR@t said:
+ all my family are out

i heard that the records are being typed up on db in india!
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I work in NHS IT and I can honestly say to anyone living in Scotland that this is a blatant lie, I have no idea about the rest of the UK but I'd be shocked if it left the county you registered in for data entry, nevermind the country. I'll be staying opted in - as will my entire family as I've seen first hand how useful it is for doctors/nurses and consultants to have at hand in an emergency or even a day to day consultation for a sore throat.

Unless you have paranoia then you really should think about staying opted in, but you have the right to opt out and for the OP I'd make sure you sent it back but keep a photocopy/scan of it. If you want to complain about your initial request not being recorded then speak to your local GP practice and ask to speak to the practice manager to make a complaint, they will record it. If you're not happy call your local NHS data/information governance department and complain to them directly.
 
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scorza said:
I'd rather have my medical records stored in a secure, properly engineered system, accessed by those who need to access it than in their current form, which is what? paper based, sent via the post. I really don't understand why anyone would opt out of this.
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Because they are fully signed up members of the Tin foil hat club. :D
 
AmTechFox said:
Surgeries scan the records, and have been for a number of years but local only. Thats what GP2GP is and more and more PCTS are using it.

It will never be outsourced like that.
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I am aware that surgeries scan the records of the individual patients, and most are working through if not completed the scanning of all their paper records. With new details being added directly by computer input.

This system is something different, and will create new records in the beginning, the summary care record. If they expect GPs to generate a summary care record for each patient on their books and add it to a central database it will require the central database to exist first will it not?
Then hospitals will add summary care notes and so on and so forth to said record.
Its this databases creation that outsourced to India from what i understood of the conversation on the Jeremy Vine show during the week.

Please correct me if my udnerstanding is inaccurate.
 
I've opted out. I can opt in whenever I want.

After a number of issues with the council and my bank writing to me to tell how I may be subject to fraud because laptops they were using were stolen I think I'll wait for better security before all my medical details are in one place. Smart cards or no smart cards, encrypted or not, there's going to be some plum out there with it on their laptop.

Then there's the issue around what will happen to the data over the next 10-20-30 years? Will insurance companies gain access to it? Prospective employers?

Sorry but there's only one person who's going to look out for your data and that's you. I intend on having some degree of control around where it sits and right now it's fine where it is.
 
Vanilla said:
After a number of issues with the council and my bank writing to me to tell how I may be subject to fraud because laptops they were using were stolen I think I'll wait for better security before all my medical details are in one place. Smart cards or no smart cards, encrypted or not, there's going to be some plum out there with it on their laptop.
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No, there won't be. Because of the way it works, there is absolutely no way for a thief to access SCR via a laptop left on a train. You can't do it - the better security you've been waiting for is here.

There is no logical reason to opt out, in my opinion.

Then there's the issue around what will happen to the data over the next 10-20-30 years? Will insurance companies gain access to it? Prospective employers?
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How are these concerns any different to the paper based data that already exists and gets posted around in the most inefficient way possible?
 
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