Confidentiality & Data Sharing
The staff at this practice record information about you and your health so that you can receive the right care and treatment. We need to record this information, together with the details of the care you receive, because it may be needed if we see you again. This information is recorded on computer and we are registered under the Data Protection Act.
We are involved in research studies which require access to anonymous information from patients' notes. You cannot be identified from these notes as all personal details (name, address, post code, full date of birth) are removed. Individual patients' records are added into a much larger anonymous database from many patients across the UK which is used by researchers outside this practice. Further information on this and how to opt-out should you wish to do so (2011) (PDF, 233KB).
We may use some of this information for other reasons, for example, to help us to protect the health of the general public generally, to plan for the future, to train staff and to carry out medical and other health research for the benefit of everyone.
If we are approached by agencies conducting health-related research or even outside agencies offering health coaching and support, we will always ask your permission to share your data. We have robust systems in place to ensure that any patient not wishing for their information to be shared in this way will be ‘opted-out’ of any data extraction that takes place. This practice will ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by all members of the practice team. However, for the effective functioning of a multi-disciplinary team it is sometimes necessary that medical information about you is shared between members of the team within the Practice. As stated above, we will always ask for your consent before we share any of your personal details with an organisation that does not have a direct effect on the care you receive.
Download using health care records 2014 (DOCX, 80KB)