Thursday, 28 March, 2024
HomeHealth PolicyBritish NHS row over patient records sold to insurers

British NHS row over patient records sold to insurers

The medical records of every British [b]National Health Service[/b] hospital patient have been sold for insurance purposes, reports [s]The Telegraph[/s]. The disclosure comes after controversial plans to extract patient data from GP files, the Care.data scheme, were put on hold, amid concerns over the scheme by, among others, the [b]British Medical Association[/b].

Those in charge of the programme had insisted that it would be illegal for information extracted from GP files to be sold to insurers, who might seek to target customers or put up their prices. However, a report by a major UK insurance society discloses that it was able to obtain 13 years of hospital data – covering 47 million patients – in order to help companies ‘refine’ their premiums.

However, some of Britain’s most senior doctors and health executives have joined forces in defence of the data sharing plans, which would lead to ‘significan medical advances’, reports the [s]Health Service Journal[/s]. The debate surrounding controversial plans to share medical records has not focused enough on the benefits and advances it could lead to, according to more than 50 leading health professionals, in a letter to The Times. The signatories include the former health minister [b]Lord Darzi[/b], former chief executive of the NHS [b]Lord Crisp[/b] and [b]Prof Nick Black of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine[/b].

The NHS has accepted the database communications campaign, which gives people the chance to opt out, needs to be improved. [s]BBC News[/s] reports that this was after widespread criticism that the public have been ‘left in the dark’ over the plans. NHS England has organised a mass mail-out to every household in England since the start of the new year, but there have been reports not everyone has received them.

In the US, healthcare providers are banking on the strength in numbers to cut down costs. A [s]Daily Progress[/s] report says that [b]Martha Jefferson Hospital and the University of Virginia Health System[/b] are joining health networks to streamline patient care and help doctors keep better track of their patients. The [b]UVa Health System[/b] has been named one of 123 new accountable care organisations certified by the [b]US Department of Health and Human Services[/b] and this designation will allow doctors in the network to bypass certain restrictions on Medicare patient privacy and share information with each other. Providers in an accountable care organisation can share those results, as long as the patient agrees to it.
[link url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10656893/Hospital-records-of-all-NHS-patients-sold-to-insurers.html]Full report in The Telegraph[/link]
[link url=http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/health-leaders-defend-caredata-scheme/5068294.article#.Uws5vUf0nlQ]Full Health Service Journal report[/link]
[link url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4014191.ece]Letter to The Times (Subscription needed)[/link]
[link url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26239532]Full BBC News report[/link]
[link url=http://www.dailyprogress.com/starexponent/news/local_news/health-networks-look-to-streamline/article_f0c0d96e-9d3d-11e3-822d-0017a43b2370.html]Full Daily Progress report[/link]

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