New guidance on information disclosure to PCTs

Tags: Confidentiality consent GP PCT Quality

14 Aug 2007

The British Medical Association has issued new guidance to GPs on confidentiality and disclosure of information to primary care trusts.

The guidance sets out the general principles governing disclosure of information to PCTs for secondary uses and when GPs need to obtain explicit or implied consent.

Examples of disclosure required by PCTs include financial audit including the Quality and Outcomes Framework annual review process and post-payment verification or where the PCT is required to carry out surveys on behalf of other NHS bodies.

The guidance says PCTs may require disclosure of confidential, identifiable information to enable them to carry out their proper functions.

It says GPs can disclose data either where patients have given explicit or implied consent, where GPs believe disclosure is in the public interest or where they are required to do so by law or by the Department of Health’s Patient Information Advisory Group.

The guidance says implied consent is accepted for disclosure of information between clinicians where the use of disclosure directly contributes to the diagnosis, care or treatment of a patient.

However it says obtaining explicit patient consent is always advisable if the information being disclosed could be considered sensitive or if it has significant implications for the individual who will be identified.

The guidance adds: “Whether explicit consent is achievable depends partly on the practicalities of the numbers involved. Explicit consent requires a dialogue orally or in writing between the patient and the GP which should be noted in the record.”

To obtain implied consent GPs need to do all that is reasonable to ensure patients are fully aware of what happens to their information. This includes notices in leaflets and on practice premises, informing patients verbally where possible and ensuring staff are aware of their responsibilities.

Reader's Comments

more guidance

14 Aug 07 14:08

Also guidance available from BMA on secondary uses of patient information:

http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/PDFSecondaryUses/$FILE/secondary+uses+of+patient-identifiable+information.pdf

link

14 Aug 07 18:08

lbetter link for above BMA document (secondary uses of patient information):

http://tinyurl.com/2zfwf4

Where does this leave us with the IM&T DES?

17 Aug 07 18:08

The IM&T DES requires the inspection of a sample of patient records by the PCT assessor to check the quality of the electronic records. This would not seem to be covered in this guidance. I do not see that consent could be gained *implicitly* for this - and, previously, sticking up a notice in the waiting room asking for objections has not been considered to be adequate. In this scenario, is the achievement of the IM&T DES impossible?