Information society : agenda for action in the UK : evidence received after 31 March 1996 / Select Committee on Science and Technology.
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. Science and Technology Committee.
- Date:
- 1996
Licence: Open Government Licence
Credit: Information society : agenda for action in the UK : evidence received after 31 March 1996 / Select Committee on Science and Technology. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![16 April 1996] [Continued 4. How can universal access to services provided for the common good be secured within a commercially competitive market framework? We believe that by recognising that information (eg, health care information) has a value, it could be possible then to view this within a competitive market framework. It should be possible to develop a system, within the internal market structure of the new NHS, whereby the necessary infrastructure for the creation, storage, retrieval and manipulation of health care information is budgeted and further managed as any other essential resource. Funds would need to be allocated not only to those providing the hardware, software and other necessary communications architecture for Internet connectivity but also to those professionals who create and critique the intellectual content of the information sources to be made available. This aspect of provision of care and marketing could be seen as a integral part of the quality of both commissioning and provision of services. This must be integrated however with the original and still overwhelming ethos of the “Information Superhighway” of free communications and information exchange for all. It is necessary that certain basic information eg Government health legislation, health promotional materials be made freely available via the “Information Superhighway” to everyone, health professionals and public alike. 5. What is the role of central Government in connection with the “Information Superhighway” service provision. The BMA believes that the Government has a full and crucial role to play in all the areas suggested by the Sub Committee. We believe that central Government has to provide leadership so that the gains that will be accrued from the widespread use of information technology will be maximised. The BMA has, in particular, been concerned with the security and confidentiality aspects of the NHS “HealthNet”. The BMA believes that the current security policy and technical specifications for the “HealthNet” fulfil neither the professions’ requirement nor the public’s demand for confidentiality of identifiable health data. This is despite months of painstaking effort and investment in negotiation by the BMA with the NHS-Executive’s Information Management Group (IMG). The BMA is particularly concerned about the levels of access to the network, ie, the amount of information that any one authorised individual may have available to them at a particular time and that the technical specifications for the planned HealthNet link with the wider “Information Superhighway” are not being made publicly available and thereby available for comment by technical experts. We are seriously concerned at the level of recognition within the NHS Executive of the importance of the absolute confidentiality of patient data and believe that the ability of individuals to access data quickly and easily within the system means that the only guaranteed way to maintain patient confidentiality is now not to enter electronically any confidential information given to a doctor at all. We have also proposed other strategies such as the encryption of data before it leaves the clinician’s control. The BMA has also emphasised to the Department of Health its concern over the NHSE’s insistence that the responsibility for the safety of the data within the HealthNet rests with the clinician who inputs the data. If the data is then to be accessible by many employees over which the clinician could not conceivably have either knowledge or control, then another incentive exists simply not to use electronic data in medicine and initiatives flounder. Dr Ross Anderson, lecturer in computer and communications security at the University of Cambridge was commissioned by the BMA to produce a draft security policy and interim end-user guidelines. An article was published in the BMJ! of 13 January 1996 to stimulate discussion with the wider medical and security profession. 6. What is the role of local and regional Government in connection with the “Information Superhighway”? How can new services be used to boost (a) the ongoing regeneration of urban areas, (b) other local economies. The BMA sees the role of local Government in connection with the “Information Superhighway”, regeneration of urban areas and health care particularly in terms of its contribution toward community care, epidemiological research, the practice of preventive medicine and the health impact of local service development eg access to sports facilities, housing and other social benefits. 7. What will be the impact of the “Information Superhighway” on working practices and employment prospects? The BMA believes that access to the “Information Superhighway” from machines that are not linked to networks carrying identifiable clinical information, could impact on clinical practice in many ways, contributing to the overall clinical audit process leading to improved patient care based on evidence of best practice. However, the impact of the information superhighway on NHS working practices up to now has been to add administrative tasks rather than improving clinical results or output. We believe that any information strategy should be developed by managers and end-users liaising closely to ensure a satisfactory end result. We see information technology leading to an increased ability to share information between those directly involved in the care of a particular patient with their express consent. It is the BMA’s view that situations 'Anderson R, Clinical system security: interim guidelines, BMJ, 1996 312, 109-111.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32218631_0011.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
