NHS database: the security of our medical records

What next after the Child Benefit fiasco? Well, how about this? The man in charge of setting up the NHS medical records database has said it -

could be targetted

and that when it comes to personal information -

you cannot stop the wicked doing wicked things

A recent report shows that nearly two-thirds of family doctors plan to boycott the government's scheme to put NHS patient medical records on a national electronic database (called the NHS Spine).

The Register has picked up on this, as has Dr Rant.

The eHealth Insider reports that the Spine database is due to close for a two day 'refresh'.

You can read more about the NHS IT system on Wikipedia. And the government organisation NHS Connecting for Health who are behind it.

And I imagine the Big Opt Out campaign has been getting more traffic.

Also No Medical Privacy details security issues in the UK and covers what rights we have as patients.

Is a boycott a bad idea or simply the safe option? We'll bring you a voice from the inside soon. In the meantime, if there somone in particular you'd like to hear from on this debate, please let us know.

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