This practice is supporting vital health and care planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital. For more information about this see the GP Practice Privacy Notice for General Practice Data for Planning and Research.”
As of 25th May 2018, new data protection regulations are being introduced. Keeping your data safe and secure is our top priority. The changes won’t alter the way we use and protect your personal information, but it will make it easier for you to find out how we use it.
There is no action that you need to take. However, the surgery has produced literature and guidance to support patients in this field. Please see these attachments or speak to the team if you have any queries or questions.
HGP Patient information re GDPR
Child Privacy Notice August 2019
HGP Privacy Notice August 2019
What this means for you: informing patients – Practice obligations
The Practice is required under data protection law to ensure that patients are aware of how their data is used. This Programme involves new processing of data and Practices are advised to update their Privacy Notice materials and use whatever other means you have to inform patients about it e.g. through patient participation groups, newsletters etc.
The Programme offers patients the opportunity to opt-out of their data being included in the Programme, even though the analysis is done using de-identified data. It is important that patients are made aware of this too.
HVCCG extracts medical information about you for population health management and risk stratification purposes, the information we pass to them via our computer systems cannot identify you to them. This information only refers to you by way of a code that only your practice can identify (it is pseudo-anonymised). This therefore protects you from anyone who may have access to this information at the Clinical Commissioning Group from ever identifying you as a result of seeing the medical information and we will never give them the information that would enable them to do this.
There are good reasons why the Clinical Commissioning Group may require this pseudo-anonymised information, these are as follows:
- To assist in analysing current health services and proposals for developing future services.
- To develop risk stratification models to help GP’s to identify and support patients with long term conditions and to help to prevent unplanned hospital admissions or reduce the risk of certain diseases developing, such as diabetes.
- Using risk stratification to help the CCG to understand the health needs of the local population in order to plan and commission the right services.
NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (AGEM) are commissioned by the CCG to carry out this process. The risk stratification tool that AGEM use for this process is called Jemima.
What if I do not want information about me to be included (opt out)?
If you do not wish your data to be included in this process (even though it is in a format which does not directly identify you) you can choose to opt-out. In this case, please inform the Receptionist who will apply an opt-out code to your record to ensure that your information is not included.
Why we collect information about you
Health care professionals who provide you with care are required by law to maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received within any NHS organisation. These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.
We collect and hold data for the sole purpose of providing healthcare services to our patients. In carrying out this role we may collect information about you which helps us respond to your queries or secure specialist services. We may keep your information in written form and/or in digital form. The records may include basic details about you, such as your name and address. They may also contain more sensitive information about your health and information such as outcomes of needs assessments.
Details we collect about you
The health care professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously or elsewhere (e.g. NHS Hospital Trust, other GP Surgery, Out of Hours GP Centre, A&E, Walk-in clinic, etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.
Records which we may hold about you may include the following:
- Details about you, such as your address and next of kin, emergency contacts
- Any contact the surgery has had with you, such as appointments, clinic visits, immunisations, emergency appointments, etc.
- Notes and reports about your health
- Details about your treatment and care
- Results of investigations, such as laboratory tests, x-rays, etc.
- Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives or those who care for you (including that provided via our surgery website)
How we keep your information confidential and safe
All your GP NHS health records are kept electronically. Our GP records database is hosted by EMIS Health Ltd, who is acting as a data processor, and all information is stored in a safe and secure manner in a third parties data centre which acts on the instructions of EMIS and has been approved by NHS Digital. Access is restricted to authorised personnel.
We also make sure that data processors that support us are legally and contractually bound to operate and prove security arrangements are in place where data that could or does identify a person are processed.
We only email you, or use your mobile number to text you, regarding matters of medical care, such as appointment reminders and (if appropriate) test results. Unless you have separately given us your explicit consent, we will not email you for non-medical matters (such as surgery newsletters and other information).
We maintain our duty of confidentiality to you always. We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to any third party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances (i.e. life or death situations), or where the law requires information to be passed on.
How we use information about you
Confidential patient data will be shared within the healthcare team at the practice, including nursing staff, admin staff, secretaries and receptionists, and with other healthcare professionals to whom a patient is referred. Those individuals have a professional and contractual duty of confidentiality.
Details of who is authorised to access your GP record can be found in our “Your Medical Records” section.
Referrals for specific health care purposes
We sometimes provide your information to other organisations for them to provide you with medical services. We will always inform you of such a referral and you always have the right not to be referred in this way.
These include:
- Referrals for home oxygen services (“HOOF”)
- Referrals for Diabetes dietary advice (“DESMOND”)
- Referrals for Diabetes Eye Screening (DRS)
- Referrals for Prediabetes advice (“Healthier You”)
Data Sharing Schemes
A number of data sharing schemes are active locally, enabling healthcare professionals outside of the surgery to view information from your GP record, with your explicit consent, should that need arise.
Details of these schemes, and of your right to opt-out of any or all of them, can be found in our “Your Medical Records” section.
Mandatory disclosures of information
We are sometimes legally obliged to disclose information about patients to relevant authorities. In these circumstances, the minimum identifiable information that is essential to serve that legal purpose will be disclosed.
That organisation will also have a professional and contractual duty of confidentiality. Data will be anonymised if at all possible before disclosure if this would serve the purpose for which the data is required.
Organisations that we are sometimes obliged to release information to include:
- NHS Digital (e.g. the National Diabetes Audit)
- CQC
- DVLA
- GMC
- HMRC
- NHS Counter Fraud
- Police
- The Courts
- Public Health England
- Local Authorities (Social Services)
- The Health Service Ombudsman
In the event of actual or possible legal proceedings, we may need to disclose information from an individual’s GP record to a medical defence organisation.
Permissive disclosures of information
Only with your explicit consent, Harvey Group Practice can release information about you, from your GP record, to relevant organisations. These may include:
- Your employer
- Insurance companies
- Solicitors
- Local Authorities
- Police
Accessing your information on other databases
We can access certain medical information about you, when relevant or necessary, that is held on other databases (i.e. under the control of another data controller). This includes the NHS Digital’s Open Exeter database. Accessing such information would only be for your direct medical care.
Research
We sometimes undertakes accredited research projects. Where this involves accessing identifiable patient information, we will only do so with the explicit consent of the individual and Research Ethics Committee approval. All studies we agree to work with have a gone through stringent processes before going live, this includes how data from the study will be processed and managed. An example of this is https://www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/research-participant-data. If you have any queries about research studies, please direct them to Dr Matt Parfitt in the first instance.
Your right to opt-out of sharing your information
You have the right to opt-out (or object) to ways in which your information is shared, both for direct medical care purposes (such as the national NHS data sharing schemes), i.e. primary uses of your information, or for purposes other than your direct medical care – so called secondary uses.
Details of these purposes, and how you can opt out, can be found in our “Your Medical Records” section.
Accessing your own medical information
You have the right to access your own GP record. You can also sign up to have secure online access to your electronic GP record.
Lawful bases for processing and the EU GDPR
Detailed information (individual privacy notices) about all our data processing activities, including lawful bases, can be found on our website, upon request from the surgery, or from the Data Protection Officer (Dr Neil Bhatia).
We rely upon Article 6(1)(e) Official Authority and Article 9(2)(h) Provision of Health for much of our processing, in particular:
• Maintaining your electronic GP record
• Sharing information from, or allowing access to, your GP record, for healthcare professionals involved in providing you with medical care
• Referrals for specific health care purposes
• The NHS data sharing schemes
• Our data processors
• Organising your prescriptions, including sending both paper and electronic prescriptions to your chosen pharmacy
• Some permissive disclosures of information
• Accessing your information on other NHS organisation databases
We rely upon Article 6(1)(d) Vital Interests and Article 9(2)(h) Provision of Health to share information about you with another healthcare professional in a medical emergency.
We rely upon Article 6(1)(c) Legal Obligation and Article 9(2)(h) Provision of Health for mandatory disclosures of information (such as to NHS Digital, CQC).
We rely upon Article 6(1)(a) Consent and Article 9(2)(h) Provision of Health for certain permissive disclosures of information (such as to insurance companies).
We rely upon Article 6(1)(e) Official Authority and Article 9(2)(j) Research for accredited research undertaken in the surgery, with your explicit consent.
Notification
The Data Protection Act 1998 requires organisations to register a notification with the Information Commissioner to describe the purposes for which they process personal and sensitive information.
We are registered as a data controller and our registration can be viewed online in the public register at https://ico.org.uk/
Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Mr Barry Moult is Data Protection Officer for the surgery. He can be contacted at [email protected]
Case Finding and Profiling – CCG wide
Sometimes your information will be used to identify whether you need particular support from us. Those involved in your care might look at particular ‘indicators’ (such as particular conditions) and contact you or take action for healthcare purposes.
For example, this might be to prevent you from having to visit accident and emergency by supporting you in your own home or in the community. We will use automated technology to help us to identify people that might require support but ultimately, the decision about how or whether to provide extra support you is made by those involved in your care. Our Data Protection Officer will be happy to speak to you about this if you have concerns or objections. Charlotte Earl, Senior Pharmaceutical Advisor
Complaints
If you have concerns or are unhappy about any of our services, please contact the Practice Manager.
For independent advice about data protection, privacy, and data sharing issues, you can contact:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Phone: 08456 30 60 60
Website:www.ico.gov.uk