Confidentiality & Data Protection
We are committed to safeguarding your confidentiality and comply with Data Protection and Caldecott guidelines. Any data sent electronically is anonymised or encrypted. Dependent on type.
Research
This practice is a member of the Medical Research Council’s General Practice Research.
If the practice takes part in a study we may pass anonymised information from your medical records or our practice computer to the researchers co-ordinating the study. If you do not wish to be contacted or allow anonymised information from you or your children’s notes please write and inform the Practice Manager.
Use of Personal Health Data
Everyone in the NHS has the responsibility to use personal data in a secure and confidential way.
Personal data includes information about any living individual who can be identified. The information may be held in manual or electronic form.
We are registered under The Data Protection Act 1998 and abide by The Caldecott principles and recommendations.
Following the above principles we may be requested a times to provide information for the following:
Department of Health
The Department of Health requires notification of certain diseases (e.g. Meningitis, measles but not AIDS for public health reasons).
Social Services & The Benefits Agency
They may require medical records. These will often be accompanied by your signed consent to do so. Failure to co-operate with these agencies can lead to patients loss of benefits or support.
Law Courts
They can insist on disclosure of medical records. Doctors may not refuse to co-operate.
Solicitors
They often ask for medical reports. We will always require the patient’s consent for us to disclose information. We will not disclose details about other people that are contained in your records (i.e. Partner, children, parents etc) unless their consent is gained also.
Life Assurance Companies
We may receive a request for medical reports on patients. A signed consent must always accompany the request. GP’s must disclose all relevant medical information unless you asked us not to do so. However we would have to inform the insurance company that you have instructed us not to make a full disclosure to them.
You also have the right, should you request it, to see reports to insurance Companies or employers before they are sent. In the case of hospital records, reports are written for Life Assurance companies only with the patients specific consent.
When supplying medical information for insurance purposes we follow Joint Guidelines from the British Medical Association and the Association of British Insurers