Comments on: BMA branch opposes fast rollout of summary e-records

By: Fred

Fred — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:17:52 +0000

Sandra, Are you in the employ of the NHS, or the Government? Why else could you consider the creation of an insecure database to be the answer to anyone’s needs? Except perhaps the needs of a control freak in central government who must know more so that he can control better?

My position? If my records leave my GP’s control, I opt out of the NHS.

By: Sandra Willingham

Sandra Willingham — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:11:25 +0000

Guardian Nov 2006, Telegraph Sep 2008…. Incidentally this was when the majority of opt outs happened for a lot of the practices I am involved with. The Guardian in particular was a very “scare mongering” article which did not consider both the pros and cons of which admittedly there are numerous.

By: andrew

andrew — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:58:29 +0000

Sandra – do you have any particular misleading newspaper article in mind?

By: Sandra Willingham

Sandra Willingham — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:53:38 +0000

The central registration system, Exeter, would not know if you had opted out already. The national read code applied to your record as a result of your decision to opt out will remain and you won’t have a SCR created. Perhaps the letter for some though is an opportunity to realise the actual data involved and to re consider a decision they may have made as a result of a mis leading newspaper article?

By: andrew

andrew — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:52:25 +0000

Graham – If you used TheBigOptOut letter to your GP, then only your GP knows that you’ve forbidden him/her to send our records to the Spine. The PCT doesn’t know, and won’t know until it attempts to get your records from the GP. This may be why the PCT seems to breezily assume that every recipient of its letter is happy to have an SCR unless you reply to them.

TheBigOptOut’s letter deliberately tells your GP to keep your opt-out decision private. This is because it seemed at one stage that the Chief Medical Officer wanted to write to everyone who opted out, trying to strong-arm them into changing their minds.

By: Graham Walter

Graham Walter — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:27:36 +0000

In May 2009, I opted out in person to my GP, confirmed in writing. Despite that I have this week (3-Mar-2010) received a letter signed by the Chief Executive of my Primary Care Trust informing me that “We will assume that you are happy to have a summary care record and the process of creating a record for you will begin”.

It doesn’t look like they actually understand the idea of opting out..