The NHS needs data about the patients it treats in order to plan and deliver its services and to ensure that care and treatment provided is safe and effective. The GPDPR data collection will help the NHS to improve health and care services for everyone by collecting patient data that can be used to do this.
This data will be shared from 1 September 2021. Data may be shared from the 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 this data sharing started, and was previously registered at a GP practice in England when the data collection started
NHS Digital will not share your name or where you live. Any other data that could directly identify you, for example your 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 with NHS Digital.
NHS Digital will be able to use the same software to convert the unique codes back to data that could directly identify you in certain circumstances, and where there is a valid legal reason. Only NHS Digital has the ability to do this.
Type 1 Opt-out (opting out of NHS Digital collecting your data)
If you do not want your identifiable patient data to be shared beyond your medical records at the Meads Medical Centre for purposes except your own care, you can register an opt-out with us. This is known as a Type 1 Opt-out.
NHS Digital will not collect any patient data for patients who have already registered a Type 1 Opt-in line with current policy. If this changes patients who have registered a Type 1 Opt-out will be informed.
You can register a Type 1 Opt-out at any time by completing the form below and sending it to us. You can also change your mind at any time and withdraw a Type 1 Opt-out.
Type 1 Data opt out form (DOCX, 34KB)
There are two different types of data opt out
- Type 1 opt-out prevents information that identifies individuals being shared outside of their GP practice, for secondary uses.
- National Data Opt-Out (NDOO) prevents confidential patient information from being shared outside of NHS Digital for purposes beyond individual care.
Please Please see a diagram on how the two data opt outs interact.
National Data Opt-out (opting out of NHS Digital sharing your data)
This applies to identifiable patient data about your health which is called confidential patient information. If you don’t want your confidential patient information to be shared by NHS Digital with other organisations for purposes except your own care you can register a National Data Opt-out.
If you have registered a National Data Opt-out, NHS Digital won’t share any confidential patient information about you, unless there is an exemption to this, such as where there is a legal requirement or where it is in the public interest to do so, such as helping to manage contagious diseases like coronavirus.
You can find out more about and register a National Data Opt-out, or change your choice on nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters or by calling 0300 3035678.
All of the information in this article comes from NHS Digital. To read it in more detail, please visit https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-data-opt-out