I read around about it before I received the notification
Generally GPs don't seem very keen on it, and various organisations are raising concerns too.

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/henryporter/2010/mar/02/nhs-spine-database-opting-out probably made my mind up.

I'm going to read more on Biobank but I reckon I'll end up doing it.
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Sat 1 May 2010, 10:26, 1 reply, 16 years ago)

Hmmm...
I don't buy the point the article's making. First up, it seems to pander to the false belief that most people's medical records are very interesting indeed, and worth leaking. Second, worries about the database smuggle in the assumption that the current system is more secure than the proposed one. Third, the idea that the number of people who has access is, in its own terms, important is bunk: I don't see why that should be at all. If I'm in Glasgow when I brake my arm or have a heart attack, I'd want more people - specifically, the people in the hospital - to have access to my records. Fourth: the stuff about "government agencies" - tinfoil hat, much? Fifth, the doctors' questionnaire mentioned is misleading, because, as described, it suggests that the choice is between information being kept confidential with the GP, or a national system with no confidentiality. The reality is that there's a third option, which is a confidential national system - which is, by coincidence, what the new one would be (and would have to be under the DPA, and quite possibly as part of your Article 8 rights). Sixth, there's a confusion of privacy and confidentiality; I'm not sure that that makes much of a difference overall here, but they shouldn't be run together anyway.


... and breathe!

Righty-ho. I'm off until tomorrow. See y'all then!
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Sat 1 May 2010, 11:00, Reply)