UK Gov flogging your records!

2b1ask1

2b1ask1

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Amidst the mass of confusion that has been Covid and other such distractions, the UK government have managed to push through the ability to sell your heath records to anyone who has the ability to pay! Now I am not a scare monger or conspiracy theorist but think about this for a moment...

Your heath records, from birth, any notes at all to do with a visit to a GP/hospital/district nurse/health visitor, even the school nurse! It likely contains intimate details, maybe your sexual orientation, health, or if you have discussed a family history of disorders etc. Now think about who might be interested in this??? Say if you decided to emigrate, or were applying for life insurance, a mortgage, become a JW even! Naturally the enterprise is being sold along the lines of: It will be used for medical research and development of wonder cures. Call me cynical but I think it will be used for far more sinister reasons, if not initially then in the longer run.

The 'deal' was so secretive that nobody knew the cut off was 23rd June this year to 'opt out' and they have been forces to give an additional 2 months to this.

You Can still opt out now:

Click on this link https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/manage-your-choice/ and follow the opt out process. This will ensure that your non-GP data (hospital records and treatments etc) is not transferred as planned by the government.

And that's it! You will have stopped this government from flogging off your personal, most intimate data to anyone who can afford to pay.
 
Oneball

Oneball

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Remember being asked if I wanted to opt out of this in 2019, so nowt to do with being “hidden by Covid”
 
Vampyrebat

Vampyrebat

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Thanks Newton...........I have also opted out!! Too many skeletons in the closet (that I'm still in) ;)
 
MarkMas

MarkMas

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There is some cause for concern, but this has also been hyped up into a drama.

Some thoughts:
  • This already happens - UK medical data is already collected into a central database, and this is just an improved system.
  • The data is anonymised, so some random person or organisation cannot just access your personal records.
  • The main point of it is to improve medical research, and this is a vital resource for this.
  • The data is intended to be provided only for medical research and policy purposes; insurance companies are explicitly excluded from access.
But:
  • It has been very poorly communicated, which means people are assuming it is sinister and are hyping up opposition.
  • The controls are not strong enough, in anonymity, postcode management and access controls.
  • People not unreasonably think that this is 'just the start' and while today it might be about anonymous datasets for research, soon it will be selling your sexual foibles to professional blackmailers after 'the NHS has been sold to the Americans'.
On balance I think the potential for public good outweighs the risk of private harm, so I'm in. But others may reasonably (or unreasonably) think otherwise.
 
S

Simon1963

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breezer said:
I don’t know who you think you are, but you keep your informed, reasonable opinions to yourself! Everyone KNOWS the Tories are evil scum lords who want to sell the Holy And Perfect NHS to vampires and capitalist pigdogs.
Click to expand...
Your not a Boris fan then?:)
 
EnzoMC

EnzoMC

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I'm sure someone will correct me, but under GDPR your data can only be shared if you agree, not have to opt-out.
so the information being shared maybe generic and not linked to us. I so hope I'm right.
 
2b1ask1

2b1ask1

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Phil H said:
Data is a lucrative commodity these days, and I'm sure it helps to balance the books.


Sub-licensing at £10k a pop, I wonder how that's controlled downstream.
Click to expand...

^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^

Just look how appallingly the DVSA have handled out information, with parking scammers having access for as little as £2.50 for every enquiry, curiously the parking scammers are only too eager to pass on (very illegally) that paid for data to debt collectors etc. There are no checks to see that the data is destroyed once an 'enquiry' is concluded, you can bet your bottom $ that information is passed around on company laptops and even the broader interweb etc.
 
MarkMas

MarkMas

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EnzoMC said:
I'm sure someone will correct me, but under GDPR your data can only be shared if you agree, not have to opt-out.
so the information being shared maybe generic and not linked to us. I so hope I'm right.
Click to expand...

It is individual, but also anonymised. To be more precise, it seems that:
  • The data being collected and held by the NHS is individual and could, with a court order, be tracked back to a particular person. GDPR suggests that this should probably be an opt in, but I'm sure they found a way round that (there are lots of loopholes).
  • The data subsequently being made available to researchers is (supposed to be) completely anonymised, so no GDPR implications.
A concern is that the postcode data being made available to researchers might potentially compromise anonymity.
 
Hawk13

Hawk13

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My take on this is that I really don't care and CBA to take any action ... for 2 reasons:

1 - I don't trust any organization (and particularly one as poorly managed as the NHS) to actually have a system capable of taking my wishes into effect

2 - the NHS cyber security controls will invariably be so **** poor that everyone already has my information
 
Felonious Crud

Felonious Crud

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I opted out because it wouldn't be fair to inflict my medical records on anyone in case they have a weak stomach or any emotional sensitivities.
 
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