Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of of adapting the NHS opt-out system to allow patients to consent to data being shared within the NHS but not with third-parties.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The National Data Opt Out in its current form was established in 2018 on the recommendation of the National Data Guardian and following development by the National Data Opt Out Implementation Board, which included user-testing. This concluded that a single opt out question was preferable.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to assess the level of public concern on the transfer of patient records from GPs to a centralised NHS Digital system; and what steps he is taking to protect patient confidentiality under that new system.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
NHS Digital has engaged widely with stakeholders over several years on the new system, including patient groups and professional clinical organisations. NHS Digital has publicised this coming into effect through a press notice, web content, social media, engagement with the media and through stakeholder channels. The new system will now start on 1 September, allowing an additional two months to engage with patients, doctors, health charities and others.
Applications to use data are always subject to the greatest scrutiny. Access to data can only be requested for specific purposes, such as medical research and planning and audits are carried out to ensure it is only being used for the purpose given.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of changing general practice data sharing from an opt-out to an opt-in system.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
In line with the National Data Guardian's independent ‘Review of data security, consent and opt-outs’ in 2016, which considered an opt-in approach, an opt-out model provides the best balance between providing high quality services and providing individuals with a choice on how their data is used.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the transfer of patient records from GPs to a centralised NHS Digital system, what steps his Department has taken to publicise the patient opt-out option before 23 June 2021.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
NHS Digital proactively promoted this new data collection through their website, engagement with media, stakeholder and patient groups and social media channels. They sought to raise awareness of the collection and its importance to the health and care system, but also to provide patients with a choice if they do not want their data to be used in this way by registering a data-opt-out.
The new system will start on 1 September, allowing a further two months where we will engage with patients, doctors, health charities and others to strengthen awareness and understanding.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2021 to Question 3861 on Medical Records: Data Protection, in what format that information is held; and whether his Department holds information on the registered addresses of the organisations with which it shares NHS Digital data sets for the purposes of research and planning.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The format of the data dissemination is dependent on the requirements of each data sharing agreement, the data set requested and the minimisation applied. The registered address for each organisation is held and contractual Data Sharing Framework and Data Sharing Agreements are maintained with legally binding terms and conditions.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to make medical records available to commercial third parties; and what steps he is taking to ensure that medical records are not disclosed to third parties without the informed consent of patients.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The National Health Service does not allow data to be used solely for commercial purposes. All applications for access to this data must have a health or care benefit by organisations who have a legitimate need and a legal basis to use the data. NHS Digital publishes the details of the data it allows access to on a data release register so it can be held to account.
The NHS carries out independent audits to verify organisations are using this data for the stated purposes, in accordance with the terms and conditions of their data sharing agreements.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS users are aware of the upcoming 23 June 2021 deadline to opt-out of patient data sharing plans.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
NHS Digital proactively promoted the new collection approach with all media outlets, using social media channels to promote information including an animation which describes what is a complex area in easy to understand terms. Patient facing materials have been developed by NHS Digital for general practitioners to use.
Following the announcement that the data collection will be delayed until 1 September 2021, NHS Digital intends to use the next two months to continue to enhance communications and further raise awareness with the public about the new collection and its benefits.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the collection of general practice data by NHS Digital and the opt-out date of 23 June 2021, which patient details are planned to be shared with third parties.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Only the information that is required to meet a legally permitted use will be accessed. The data will only be used for health and care planning and research purposes by organisations that have a legal basis and legitimate need to use the data. NHS Digital publishes the details of the data shared on their data release register. All requests to access general practitioner (GP) data are scrutinised by NHS Digital against stringent criteria, then two independent panels which include GP representatives.
Any National Health Service organisation, such as a clinical commissioning group, or a national arm’s length body or research organisation can request access to the data. The data collected from GPs does not include the names and addresses of individuals or their contact numbers and is pseudonymised at source to further protect the identity of patients. The implementation date of this data collection will now be 1 September 2021.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the collection of general practice data by NHS Digital and the opt-out date of 23 June 2021, what patients' data is planned to be used for; and who plans to use that data.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Only the information that is required to meet a legally permitted use will be accessed. The data will only be used for health and care planning and research purposes by organisations that have a legal basis and legitimate need to use the data. NHS Digital publishes the details of the data shared on their data release register. All requests to access general practitioner (GP) data are scrutinised by NHS Digital against stringent criteria, then two independent panels which include GP representatives.
Any National Health Service organisation, such as a clinical commissioning group, or a national arm’s length body or research organisation can request access to the data. The data collected from GPs does not include the names and addresses of individuals or their contact numbers and is pseudonymised at source to further protect the identity of patients. The implementation date of this data collection will now be 1 September 2021.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the collection of general practice data by NHS Digital and the opt-out date of 23 June 2021, what steps his Department has taken to communicate the collection of that data to the public.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
NHS Digital proactively promoted the new collection approach with all media outlets, using social media channels to promote information. Patient facing materials have been developed by NHS Digital for general practitioners to use. Following the announcement that the data collection will be delayed until 1 September 2021, NHS Digital intends to use the next two months to continue to enhance communications and further raise awareness with the public about the new collection and its benefits.