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Wednesday, 29 June 2005 13:47 | BNN: British Nursing News Online · www.bnn-online.co.uk
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Doctors at the British Medical Association conference in Manchester are to debate the issues surrounding the computerisation of medical records amid fears the move could threaten patient confidentiality.
The NHS’s £6.2bn IT upgrade will see records moved onto a national database allowing staff to access the information from wherever the patient is being treated.
Patients will also be able to book appointments online and create an electronic prescription system.
However, a BMA survey has revealed that many patients are worried about the system’s security.
Dr Richard Vautrey, from the BMA's GP committee, said: "Doctors have a fundamental duty to protect the confidentiality of the information that patients tell them.
"And many doctors remained concerned that we seem to be sleepwalking into a system where a significant amount of personal and medical information is held on a national database without either us or patients fully understanding the long-term implications."
"An IT system is only as secure as its weakest link.
"There are access controls so that doctors or other health professionals can only access what information is relevant.
"For example, if a consultant is treating someone for a stomach complaint there is probably no need for them to know the person has had an abortion.
"But our fears are that people will share their access controls, or others will hack into the system for commercial gain."
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