5 Dec 2011

Data access could mean NHS constitution changes

The NHS constitution would have to be altered if the government pushes ahead with proposals to give private companies access to NHS patient data, Channel 4 News has learned.

Pharmaceutical equipment at imperial College London - the Government wants to open up NHS data to private companies to boost the life sciences industry (Reuters)

David Cameron is unveiling controversial moves to boost the economy by sharing NHS data with private healthcare companies.

Currently the NHS constitution says: “Information about your medical history should be kept confidential, and should not be released to people who are not involved in your medical care without your consent. This includes your relatives, unless you are unable to give consent yourself.

“There are some exceptions to this rule. For example, medical information about you may be disclosed if it would prevent serious harm to others.”

But a source told Channel 4 News the new proposals would mean altering the NHS constitution so that patients would have to opt out of allowing their data to be made available and that this will go out to consultation.

The prime minister will insist “opening up” the health service can make it a “huge magnet” for innovation and drive growth.

Highly beneficial

Closer collaboration with life science companies could mean giving them more freedom to run clinical trials inside hospitals, as well as access to anonymised patient records.

The ideas have already encountered strong opposition from privacy campaigners, while Labour has warned of NHS privatisation by the back door.

Pharmaceutical companies have lobbied for the idea for some time. It appeared in a waterdown-down form in a report commissioned by the last government.

The current proposal is different in that it involves making available just larger sets of data already collected.

Leading health think tank the Nuffield Trust told Channel 4 News it welcomed the idea and said it could be highly beneficial: “Recent improvements in the quality, quantity and accessibility of person-level data and advances in data linkage techniques have also led to a growth in research studies using pseudonymous data from multiple databases.

“The process of collating linked pseudonymous datasets for predictive modelling can lead to a number of useful by-products, as the models require information to be structured along an individual’s pathway of care.

“Information aggregated in this way can be used to create useful ‘dashboards’ for use by commissioning organisations to monitor the quality, access and cost-effectiveness of care.”