Goldmine of Personal Medical Information the NHS is Giving Away

In the UK, it seems privacy of medical records is a growing concern, unless one opts out? This post states that is not publicized enough for most to be aware, and recent I posted about foreigners will begin to carry RFID identity cards that contain their medical records as well. BD

I WARNED of the dangers of having everyone's medical records on one huge computer. Now it is reported that the records of NHS patients could be handed over to private companies.

They would be a goldmine for companies who could use them for medical research, helping to sell products to the NHS or, more sinister, checking on the health of employees.

Medics will have to gain the consent of patients before opening their computer records, but patients will have almost no control over the same information being passed on to companies and other bodies outside the NHS, such as social workers, courts and police.

Ross Anderson, Professor of Security Engineering at Cambridge, said: "The Government have pulled a fast one. There are no limits set on the way this data can be used; this database will hoover up all the personal medical data on every person, and it can be used for whatever the Secretary of State says it can be used for."

Patients would be removed from the database if they made an application, but unless it is widely publicized, how many will do that?