NHS patient data to be made available for sale to drug and insurance firms

Drug and insurance companies will from later this year be able to buy information on patients – including mental health conditions and diseases such as cancer, as well as smoking and drinking habits – once a single English database of medical data has been created.

Harvested from GP and hospital records, medical data covering the entire population will be uploaded to the repository controlled by a new arms-length NHS information centre, starting in March. Never before has the entire medical history of the nation been digitised and stored in one place.

Advocates say that sharing data will make medical advances easier and ultimately save lives because it will allow researchers to investigate drug side effects or the performance of hospital surgical units by tracking the impact on patients.

But privacy experts warn there will be no way for the public to work out who has their medical records or to what use their data will be put. The extracted information will contain NHS numbers, date of birth, postcode, ethnicity and gender.

Once live, organisations such as university research departments – but also insurers and drug companies – will be able to apply to the new Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) to gain access to the database, called care.data.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/19/nhs-patient-data-available-companies-buy Dated Jan 2014

I thought l had signed against this happening l know l also signed against the computer that l think was since ditched

The information was sold around a year ago. Does any one think if the information posted below was a lie the Government and the NHS would not have denied it rigorously. The info has gone and gone forever, never to be pulled back. This is just the start of the complete privatisation of the NHS.

"The medical records of every NHS hospital patient in the country have been sold for insurance purposes, The Telegraph can reveal.

The disclosure comes days after controversial plans to extract patient data from GP files were put on hold, amid concerns over the scheme.

Those in charge of the programme have repeatedly insisted that it will be illegal for information extracted from GP files to be sold to insurers, who might seek to target customers or put up their prices.

However, a report by a major society of actuaries discloses that it was able to obtain 13 years of hospital data – covering 47 million patients – in order to help insurance companies “refine” their premiums.

The report by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries details how it was able to use NHS data covering all hospital in-patient stays between 1997 and 2010 to track the medical histories of patients, identified by date of birth and postcode."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/10656893/Hospital-records-of-all-NHS-patients-sold-to-insurers.html

This happened back in February 2014. These records were then 'acquired' by big pharma. If you know the right people the records on anyone are very easily 'acquired' But hey, maybe I am just an old conspiracy theorist. Read the small print "date of birth and postcode" A postcode goes down to a very small number of dwellings, how many people have my exact date of birth with my postcode? go figure.

\Saying thanks but not sure if l should be

I get what MID is saying here .....

In my opinion society has changed beyond all recognition these past years, and I'm sure my parents would have said the same thing some time ago, BUT, I do think the present wheel is rolling ever so more quickly down the hill ...... and who is going to stop it?

There are good people who speak out  ...... for instance we are doing our best for diabetics here on this Forum, and elsewhere, talking about the huge benefits that living the LCHF lifestyle can bring to all. I think all members here will play their part.

Can any aspect of life be perfect? Perfection to one person is not the same as to another, but it is important to openly discuss, exchange views, etc. Education is key .... but eyes and ears need to be open, and there will always be those who will not want to know. Do we give up, no we don't, because some will hear and perhaps their life can be improved.

With regard to what is happening or indeed has happened to our NHS records, as in all aspects of life - is anything in 2015 as it should be?

Jan

If I remember rightly you could opt out but it wasn't very well advertised. Sadly, it's all about money and the selling of information. I guarantee, if you have a car accident, you will be hounded by cold callers offering to claim compensation on your behalf. Likewise, it puts me off giving to charity. Charities sell on these lists as you are deemed a "soft touch" by charity call centres.

I'm already receiving invitations for diabetes drug trials from synexus (as if), they are a direct result of my surgery putting my name forward I expect they get a kick back for each patient enrolled. What else should I expect once personal details are readily available for all interested companies to see.

graham64 wrote:I'm already receiving invitations for diabetes drug trials from synexus (as if), they are a direct result of my surgery putting my name forward I expect they get a kick back for each patient enrolled. What else should I expect once personal details are readily available for all interested companies to see.

Does anyone at big pharma know what you look like? Got to admit, no lard on you mate.

graham64 wrote:I'm already receiving invitations for diabetes drug trials from synexus (as if), they are a direct result of my surgery putting my name forward I expect they get a kick back for each patient enrolled. What else should I expect once personal details are readily available for all interested companies to see.

Yes, I am sure they do get a 'kick-back' ....... from our GP's to Health, Science and Diabetes Forums ..... just look behind the scenes to find out how money exchanges hands.

All the best Jan

Serious Fraud Office fined £180,000 for BAE data breach.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been fined £180,000 after thousands of confidential documents from a high-profile bribery investigation were mistakenly sent to the wrong person.

The papers, from an investigation into a BAE Systems deal, contained evidence relating to 64 people.
They were wrongly sent to a witness in the case in an "astounding" lapse, the Information Commissioner's Office said.

The SFO said it had "substantially overhauled its procedures".

The al-Yamamah deal involved the sale of tens of billions of pounds worth of arms by BAE to Saudi Arabia, beginning in the 1980s and ending in 2006 with the sale of 72 Typhoon fighter jets.

At that time Labour MP Emily Thornberry told Parliament the documents had been found in a storage facility which was also being used as a cannabis farm in east London.

From today's story from the BBC here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32108610

Why this story is the BBC health section is beyond me, my point is, can we trust the Government not to give our private health records to any Tom, Dick or Harry when they pull strokes like the above. Personally I would not trust the Government to run a whelk stall.

More personal data is being sold on to fraudsters, I reckon this is just the tip of the iceberg.

An investigation has been launched into claims the details of millions of people's pensions are being sold to fraudsters and cold-calling firms.

Firms are selling data about people's salaries, investment values and pension size for as little as 5p without their knowledge, the Daily Mail said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32110859

We should be able to sue them - what happened to data protection act?

Sarah wrote:We should be able to sue them - what happened to data protection act?

The data protection act is a smoke and mirrors job, to convince us there is some security, there is none. This is the same situation regarding voting. It gives us the impression our votes makes a difference and we live in a democracy we don't. Big money controls the world, and it always has done.

"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws" - Amshall Rothschild

Our private information is all over the internet, bought and sold like a cheese sandwich. If you are involved in a car accident now, expect months of cold callers asking you if you wish to claim compensation.
One of the biggest culprits I have found is when on a return flight from abroad and Thomas Cook or Thomson or similar ask you to fill out a questionnaire. DO NOT FILL OUT ! We were bombarded with junk mail and phone calls after foolishly handing over all our private data.

mo1905 wrote:Our private information is all over the internet, bought and sold like a cheese sandwich. If you are involved in a car accident now, expect months of cold callers asking you if you wish to claim compensation.
One of the biggest culprits I have found is when on a return flight from abroad and Thomas Cook or Thomson or similar ask you to fill out a questionnaire. DO NOT FILL OUT ! We were bombarded with junk mail and phone calls after foolishly handing over all our private data.

Friends have been caught out this way too ... be warned ...  

All the best Jan

When I get calls from telesales mobs, I get rid faster than a rat down a pipe. I just say I don't live here, I'm a painter doing some work on the place. It works a treat.

There's more in the Mail on this subject

Details on sick and disabled individuals are being touted for as little as 19p
They are then being sold on with no checks to cold callers and fraudsters
New revelations branded ‘abhorrent’ and ‘disgusting’ by charities and MPs
Information Commissioner promised full probe, warning firms were in ‘deep trouble’ if they broke the law

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/