Quote:
Originally Posted by kestrelx
Do you know who owns ones medical records? The NHS do! But with these new companies oursourcing like Virgin, then surely the medical records belong to them! That means a private company owns your medical records! Opening the way to your information being sold on! A potential data protection nightmare!
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From Hansard, November 1976:
Personal medical records, including X-rays, in respect of patients treated under the NHS are held to be
the property of the Secretary of State. NHS hospital medical records are stored in premises designated by the appropriate health authority. Access to a patient's medical records is governed in the patient's interest by the ethics of the medical and allied professions.
I am not happy about companies like Virgin having a hand in the NHS but if they do they must be allowed access to patient care records. There are data protection guidelines governing this as well as access by researchers and others. See the Care Records Guarantee:
http://www.nigb.nhs.uk/pubs/nhscrg.pdf