Medical data base

As far as I am aware the computers at the GP's practice are not 'live'......they aren't connected up to external systems...other than the intranet(not the internet)......this means that the practice can access information about blood tests from the hospital data base.....or organise appointments through their own intranet, but I don't think they are at present at the same kind of risk they would be at if the whole thing went live(meaning that any hospital in England could access the data).
This data must be going on the internet as you will be able to access and look at your own records.
I am ready to be corrected if anyone knows any different.

It just worries me that information does get lost on the systems of huge organisations.......and I don't mean lost in the sense that it cannot be found.....I mean lost in the sense that it is not secure. Heck, I'm not even sure that I am making sense.......but I know what i mean.
 
In the last few weeks I have attended hospitals in Blackburn-Burnley-Accrington and Clitheroe.::(
On each occasion my rather large folder containing my medical records has had to be transported to each site.Must be a very expensive operation.:confused:

Ah well,just a thought.:)
 
Margaret Pilkington said:
As far as I am aware the computers at the GP's practice are not 'live'......they aren't connected up to external systems...other than the intranet(not the internet)......this means that the practice can access information about blood tests from the hospital data base.....or organise appointments through their own intranet, but I don't think they are at present at the same kind of risk they would be at if the whole thing went live(meaning that any hospital in England could access the data).
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Have just rung my daughter Margaret (who you know is a practice nurse) , and you are quite correct .. the ones in doctors' surgeries are intranet .. no one else can access ..'cept receptionists of course. Thanks for leading me to the answer.
 
Margaret Pilkington said:
As far as I am aware the computers at the GP's practice are not 'live'......they aren't connected up to external systems...other than the intranet(not the internet)......this means that the practice can access information about blood tests from the hospital data base.....or organise appointments through their own intranet, but I don't think they are at present at the same kind of risk they would be at if the whole thing went live(meaning that any hospital in England could access the data).
This data must be going on the internet as you will be able to access and look at your own records.
I am ready to be corrected if anyone knows any different.

It just worries me that information does get lost on the systems of huge organisations.......and I don't mean lost in the sense that it cannot be found.....I mean lost in the sense that it is not secure. Heck, I'm not even sure that I am making sense.......but I know what i mean.
Click to expand...
The community matrons can access my full medical records and often do, when I came under their mantle I signed a consent form, which is invaluable with their case management
 
The problem with Wide Area Intranets is that they often don't consider security as important as if something was 'Internet'. i.e. they think its 'internal' non public so security isn't as great a consideration. problem is anyone with a network tap can listen to every package bouncing around the network. I've even sat in the doctors and spotted their wifi networks and have the tools on my phone to potentially crack the encryption if I wanted to.....

As soon as you shove something Internet wide then you immediately start thinking about security at a paranoid level, Intranets are thought of as in house so IT bods can be a little lax in considering security.

I'd love to see a full penetration attack report on my local docs...
 
entwisi said:
I'd love to see a full penetration attack...
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Tooo much info there mate :rolleyes::D

And most people don't realise that these 'internal' networks connect to each other over the internet anyway.

My Doctors have 3 surgeries, 1 in Ossy, 1 up Shad and another in Blackburn. I go to Ossy but have been to Shad when they could not fit me in. My notes were on his PC at both so they are networked together. There is no way they have a dedicated fibre between all 3 sites so that means they connect in the big bad world on 'secure' links.
 
Benipete said:
In the last few weeks I have attended hospitals in Blackburn-Burnley-Accrington and Clitheroe.::(
On each occasion my rather large folder containing my medical records has had to be transported to each site.Must be a very expensive operation.:confused:

Ah well,just a thought.:)
Click to expand...

All of the above locations had a certain amount of my medical details on their computer data base.I can't see a problem with that.
 
As I said in a previous post, your medical records held by the surgery will have all of your personal contact details on it, plus of course your NHS number......and if these fall into the wrong hands, then some nefarious activity could occur which could leave you trying to pay off a debt that you didn't incur.

And as Ian points out people think that the intranet is a safer form of networking, when it has as many pitfalls as the internet....and one of the most serious is because people do not recognise its security failings.
 
It's not as if this information is not already out there, in other government databases, on laptops or memory sticks in the back of cars etc.
 
I don't see how anyone nicking your NHS medical number can result in fraud, your medical card in itself is accepted as proof of ID but just the number isn't good for anything.
I also have a medical file about 2 foot thick, as does my daughter and I think this is actually a step forward.Having worked in a chemists I would think you are far more vulnerable if someone decides to ram raid the shop and nick the pc.:rolleyes:
 
well, for those wof you who have no qualms about this, and feel it is a step forward, you really have nothing to worry about......have you?
Having worked in the NHS......I am not so sure.
As for the information being out there, on laptops and memory sticks...that is a worry.
 
Lindsay, if you have an NHS number and call the powers that be to say you have lost your Medical card, but you have all the other details including your NHS number....then you would more than likely get issued with a new medical card.
Fraudsters are ingenious......they can lie like politicians......convincingly.
 
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