Dame Fiona Caldicott to lead confidentiality review
Government review of the balance between protecting patient information and its sharing, to improve patient care.
Dame Fiona Caldicott has agreed to lead an independent from Government review聽of the balance between protecting patient information and its sharing, to improve patient care.
皇冠体育app Department expects to respond to the panel鈥檚 recommendations when the review publishes during 2012.
皇冠体育app recommendation for a review of the balance between protecting patient information and its sharing, to improve patient care was part of the 聽on the modernisation of health and care.
Set up as an independent group in order to 鈥榩ause, listen and reflect鈥� on the Health and Social Care Bill, the Forum made 16 key recommendations in total.
Dame Fiona is known across the NHS as the originator of 鈥楥aldicott Guardians鈥�, the individuals responsible in every NHS and local authority organisation for making decisions about sharing identifiable information.聽 This requires balancing the public interest of protecting confidential information with the public interest for sharing the information.聽 She will be calling on an expert panel made up of clinical, social care, research and other professionals, as well as patients and service users. 皇冠体育app panel will determine the detailed scope and priorities for the review.
said:
鈥淚t is timely to reconsider the principles of information protection and sharing.聽 Since the original working group鈥檚 report on the security of patients鈥� information in 1997, it has become clear that there is sometimes a lack of understanding about the rules and this can act as a barrier to exchanging information that would benefit the patient.聽 On other occasions, this has resulted in too much information being disclosed.聽 皇冠体育appse are issues of importance to everyone who uses health or social care services and our review will look across both sectors.聽 We need to examine when and how to seek and record consent, to support the flow of information to enhance patient and citizen care.鈥�
, said:
鈥淓nsuring that information is shared for best care and to promote excellent research is central to the Government鈥檚 vision for the new health and care system, as is protecting confidential information.聽 This is a complex issue and I am most grateful that Dame Fiona has accepted the challenge - I can think of no better person to complete the review.鈥�