Quote: On its website, NHS Digital states that it “is publicly funded and we operate on a cost-recovery basis” and that it does not “charge for data” – only to cover the cost of processing and delivering its service.
Although it states that “there are lots of protections in place to make sure patient data is used securely and safely”, it is not doing the safest thing – which would be to not let its customers have copies of patients’ data at all.
NHS Digital does audit some (but not all) of its customers which receive copies of data. Several of these audits have revealed that, not only do organisations break the ‘protections’ in place, but that these do not stop them from getting data once they have been broken. Some of these protections are legal obligations, but audits have shown that one public body did not even conduct a legally-required data protection impact assessment. If you do not want your private medical history to end up in the hands of a private company, you need to opt out both with your GP and NHS Digital.
