What is GDPR?
GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulations and is a new piece of legislation that will supersede the Data Protection Act. It will not only apply to the UK and EU; it covers anywhere in the world in which data about EU citizens is processed.
The GDPR is similar to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 (which the practice already complies with), but strengthens many of the DPA’s principles. The main changes are:
- Practices must comply with subject access requests
- Where we need your consent to process data, this consent must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous
- There are new, special protections for patient data
- The Information Commissioner’s Office must be notified within 72 hours of a data breach
- Higher fines for data breaches – up to 20 million euros
What is ‘patient data’?
Patient data is information that relates to a single person, such as his/her diagnosis, name, age, earlier medical history etc.
What is consent?
Consent is permission from a patient – an individual’s consent is defined as “any freely given specific and informed indication of his wishes by which the data subject signifies his agreement to personal data relating to him being processed.”
The changes in GDPR mean that we must get explicit permission from patients when using their data. This is to protect your right to privacy, and we may ask you to provide consent to do certain things, like contact you or record certain information about you for your clinical records.
Individuals also have the right to withdraw their consent at any time.
The GDPR came into effect in the UK on 25 May 2018. We are the guardians of health and care data in England, and have made sure we comply with GDPR. This means that your health and care data will carry on being handled securely and in line with the regulations.
Impact on customers and stakeholders
Our systems and services have not changed and there has been no impact on our service delivery.
Impact on the public whose data we hold
Our duty to safeguard patient data has not changed and is our priority. The GDPR creates some new rights for individuals and also it strengthens some of the rights that currently exist under the DPA. We have worked to make sure that these rights are properly implemented, and any changes in the ways we collect, store or share your data are communicated through the website.
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