Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, NHS England has the power to direct the HSCIC to collect information from all providers of NHS care, including general practices.
GPs are legally required, under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, to provide data to the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) for the care.data programme.
Confidential information from your medical records can be used by the NHS to improve the services offered so we can provide the best possible care for everyone.
This information, along with your NHS number, postcode, gender and date of birth, but not your name, are sent to a secure system where it can be linked with other health information.
This allows those planning NHS services or carrying out medical research to use information from different parts of the NHS in a way which does not identify you.
You have a choice...
You have the right to prevent confidential information about you from being shared or used for any purpose other than providing your care, except in special circumstances. If you do not want information that identifies you to be shared outside your GP practice, please notify us in writing so that we can make a note of this in your medical record. This will prevent your confidential information being used other than where necessary by law (for example, if there is a public health emergency).
You will also be able to restrict the use of information (Summary Care Records) held by other places where you receive care, such as hospitals and community services. You should let us know if you want to restrict the use of this information.
Your choice will not affect the care you receive.
Do I need to do anything?
If you are happy for your information to be shared you do not need to do anything and you can change your mind at any time.
If you are not happy for your information to be shared, please inform the Practice in writing, stating which type of information you are objecting to sharing.
It is important to note that if a patient has opted out of having a Summary Care Record (SCR) then this preference will NOT automatically apply to care.data extractions.
Consent sought for the SCR was for that specific purpose only. If a patient wishes both to opt out of the SCR and to prevent confidential data from being used for wider purposes beyond their care, then they MUST inform.