Data Protection & Confidentiality

"Our practice has decided to outsource our medical reporting to MediData, who will process your medical report using their system, eMR.

What is eMR/MediData?
MediData is a NHS Digital accredited company who have developed a digital system called eMR, which enables GP practices to create digital, GDPR compliant medical reports.

eMR helps GP Surgeries with data security, speed, and efficiency.
eMR also helps you to easily see your medical data, stay in control of it and decide who you want to share it with.

MediData has worked hard to develop their NHS GP IT Futures accredited technology, eMR, which interfaces with our GP practice’s system to extract your medical record. This means you can receive a full copy of that information securely and share it with others as you wish, keeping your data safe.

If you wish to speak to a member of the MediData team regarding your medical report, or any concerns you may have regarding your data, please contact MediData directly on:

Phone - 0333 3055 774
Email - connect@medi2data.com
LiveChat - to access this, go to https://www.medi2data.com/ and select the speech bubble in the bottom right-hand corner of the page"

We are aware of the circulation of information regarding opting out of data being shared.

To ensure we are providing the best information and resources we can please read the below and also follow the links to more detailed information.

Opting out of sharing your medical data – facts check

Much information has circulated recently across social media and in the news regarding the NHS sharing your confidential medical data. Much of that information circulating is factually incorrect. 

To opt out is clearly your right which we will uphold but we are concerned that patients have reacted to the inaccurate information but when they understand the true situation many feel differently.

What has been described in the media as a deadline date of late June to opt out was in itself misleading and has in any event now been pushed back to 1^st September so we have time for you to digest the facts and reflect on any decisions.

We are not going to action immediately any requests received to opt out in recent weeks until we hear from patients further. We will be writing to those who have made such a request and ask that they wait to read the letter before deciding what to do.

In broad terms there are two ways in which you data is already being shared and has been for years unless you have already opted out in part or in full.

The first way data is shared ensures clinician treating your immediate health needs can access the record held by your GP to ensure they have the most comprehensive and accurate information in front of them to treat you. This includes local hospitals, out-patient services and community nursing teams.

There are three sub-sets of how this first grouping of data sharing practices operate which you could opt out of if you wish:

• Summary care record
• Connecting care record
• Local record sharing

We call these local opt-outs. Further information on each, including how to opt-out can be found by visiting our website www.tyntesfield.nhs.uk and scrolling down to the information towards the bottom of the home page. We strongly advise that no-one opts out of this level of data sharing as to do so could have implications for the efficient and immediate treatment of you if you need the services of an out of hours GP, a community based health provider such as district nurses or need to receive emergency hospital treatment. This type of data sharing where your identifiable information is accessible to other NHS and Public Health bodies has also played an important role in ensuring everyone has been invited for a Covid vaccination either locally by ourselves or by the mass vaccination centres via a letter or text sent by NHS England.

The second way in which data is shared is the sharing of anonymised or depersonalised health information as part of a national response to inform and shape future models of health care, placement of health care services and the development of new services and treatments, particularly for those with chronic or complex health needs. Fortunately most of us are free of chronic or complex health concerns but they can catch up with any of us at any time. How this data sharing is managed by NHS England is what is set to change, but not significantly so, and is not something which in our opinion should cause you undue concern. For many years anonymised patient data has been shared in this way with universities, research institutes and drug companies. Without the sharing of that rich source of data we would not have made so many of the advances we have seen in recent years in all forms of care and treatments for serious illness and disease which destroy lives.

Information on what this means can again be found by visiting our website www.tyntesfield.nhs.uk and scrolling down to the information towards the bottom of the home page. The myth-busting link is particularly useful in addressing the misconceptions, fuelled by social media and the news and why we think so many people are asking to opt out:

• Your data is not being sold
• Will not be used for insurance or marketing purposes
• Will not be used for promoting or selling services
• Will not be used for market research or advertising
• Your name and full address is not being collected or shared
• The written notes (free text) of any consultations or interactions between patients and clinicians is not being collected or shared
• Images, letters, videos or documents of any description attached to your medical record are not being collected or shared

To be totally transparent, and we think this is a particular area which has been miscommunicated in the media, there is a difference between anonymised and depersonalised data. Anonymised data has been shared by the NHS for many years, once anonymised no-one can reverse engineer the process to identify whose data is whose. Depersonalised data can be reverse engineered by the NHS if ever there is good cause to do.  

It will be possible in the future for the NHS to reverse engineer depersonalised data to re-identify whose data it is BUT would only ever re-identify the data if there was a lawful reason to do so and it would need to be compliant with data protection law. For example, a patient may have agreed to take part in a research project or clinical trial and has already provided consent to their data being shared with the researchers for this purpose. The law allows research projects which need to find volunteers for their research to contact patients directly about taking part in research or a clinical trial if the Health Research Authority has approved the request. 

There are two types of opt-out quoted for this level and type of anonymised or depersonalised data sharing called Type 1 and National Opt Out.

Type 1 Opt Out which collects anonymised data has been around since 2013 but is being replaced by the National Data Opt Out scheme (now commencing on 1^st September) and this is causing the confusion.

Those who have previously, or do so before 1^st Sept, register a Type 1 Opt Out will be contacted by the NHS if they ever decide to discontinue that registration and replace it with the National Opt Out. Patients are currently rushing to register a Type 1 Opt Out but that doesn’t recall any of the anonymised data which has already been shared for years by the NHS.

The new National system which starts on 1^st September handles data a little differently, if not opted out of, by collecting depersonalised data as opposed to anonymised data.

In not opted out patient data will be collected from GP medical records about:

• any living patient registered at a GP practice in England when the collection started - this includes children and adults
• any patient who died after the data collection started, and was previously registered at a GP practice in England when the data collection started.

They will not collect your name or where you live. Any other data that could directly identify you, for example NHS number, General Practice Local Patient Number, full postcode and date of birth, is replaced with unique codes which are produced by de-identification software before the data is shared.

This process is called pseudonymisation but is being described as de-personalisation and means that no one who the data is shared with will be able to directly identify you from the data.

For the reasons we have outlined above and supported by all of the information contained in the links on our website we consider the benefits of allowing this depersonalised data to be shared are significant and to the benefit of all of our future health. If such depersonalised data is not shared with the safeguards in place it could have a negative impact on our health service of the future.

If now after considering this additional information you wish to opt out then you need to do the following:

If you wish to Opt Out of any of the local arrangements of:

• Summary care record
• Connecting care record
• Local record sharing

Then you need to complete the form:

Local Opt Out - Tyntesfield Medical Group You will find the link to this by scrolling down the home page of our website. It all works as an online form which then automatically sends to us.

If you wish to opt out of sharing your anonymised (Type 1 Opt Out) or depersonalised (National Opt out) data to inform and shape future models of health care then the route which best supports you desire for now and the future is to Opt Out of the national data sharing.

To opt out of National Data Sharing then you do so on line directly with NHS either by going to:

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/sharing-your-health-records/

or

following the link on the home page of our website  Make your choice about sharing data from your health records - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

The NHS website also gives you information on how to opt out by email or post if that is your preferred method.

Lawrie Lewis

Executive Manager

Please follow these links to find out even more about the data sharing and how to opt out: 

Patient Record - Tyntesfield Medical Group

Sharing your health records - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Mythbusting social media posts about the national data opt-out - NHS Digital

Please follow this link if you wish to register a National Data Opt-Out: Make your choice about sharing data from your health records - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Any other kind of opt out that we would normally process can be sent to us by completed the form here: Local Opt Out - Tyntesfield Medical Group