13.10.11
Survey reveals patient privacy concerns
A nationwide survey shows that confidentiality concerns can impact on people’s health, and that patients demand guarantees of the privacy of their medical records. An independent poll of 1,001 people found that the public believes hospital chief executives and managers should be held accountable for privacy protections.
Almost four in ten would put off seeking treatment from a hospital with a poor reputation for security, and almost half would withhold information from clinicians. 73.3% felt that better enforcement of rules and regulations would cut security breaches and 87.2% strongly or somewhat agree that the NHS should monitor who looks at their files.
Kurt Long, CEO of FairWarning, who commissioned the survey, said: “Modern patient care is very much information-based. Any obstacle to the free flow of information between care providers and patients, such as those caused by privacy concerns, can prevent patients from receiving the best possible care.
“Patients across the UK have enormous faith in the NHS, but this survey reveals that more needs to be done for medical information to be shared and exchanged securely, and so to ensure the best patient outcomes.”
Ted Boyle, specialist healthcare IT consultant, said: “It is vital for the future of the NHS that patient information can be freely exchanged between the clinicians. At the same time patients have a right to expect that sensitive information about them will remain confidential.
“For this to happen it is essential that advanced security systems are in place to monitor exactly who is accessing people’s records in order to prevent patient data from being abused.”
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