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Medical Records: Databases

Answer

The primary purpose of the national health service care records service (NHS CRS) is to support the delivery of care to patients. However, the aim is that data extracted from NHS services supporting direct patient care, including the NHS care records service, choose and book and electronic transmission of prescriptions, will be made available either in aggregate form or, where detailed information is provided, in anonymised or pseudonymised form, via the so-called secondary uses service. The use of consistent pseudonym enables individual cases to be tracked.Identifiable information will be available only where patient consent has been formally given or where specific permissions apply. Permission is required from the Patient Information Advisory Group (PIAG), set up under the Health and Social Care Act 2001. The PIAG assesses each application to test that the use of patient information is justified, taking into account issues of confidentiality and consent.Access to the secondary uses service requires each user to be formally registered and to use individual smart card access, just as for other systems in the national programme for information technology. Each user is allocated a role which determines what reports, and what organisations or geography of data they may access. Key user activities, including logon and extraction of data, are recorded.The Secondary Uses Group set up by the Care Record Development Board to advise on the ethical use of patient data and how the potential for research, statistics and management can be realised without compromising confidentiality or security, is due to report shortly.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

144982; 462 c261W

Session

2006-07

Subjects

Databases Medical records

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk