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 Baroness Hogg contd. ] signature on the piece of paper that they probably did not read” is no real guarantee that they have consented to the consequences that they may not understand of that signature. (Dr Jenkins) I certainly agree with you but that is no reason why we cannot improve it. 430. It has to come from the profession. (Dr Jenkins) In our security policy document which you have, the policy is not only for computerised information systems, it is for manual systems as well. We certainly need to improve the way in which we actually handle the issue of consent and confidentiality, all of us. Chairman 431. I am afraid that time is running out, Dr Macara and colleagues. Could I ask you, if you would care to do so, to write and let us know ina little more detail just why it is that you stress so much the importance of confidentiality and in what respects you wish to stress it? Secondly, how do you intend to take forward these concerns in the light of the Government’s announced intention in the Second Reading debate not to support Lord Walton’s Bill? I do not want you to answer now, could you write and tell us? (Dr Macara) We will be very happy to do that. lam sorry that time ran out because we would be equally happy to do it now. Chairman] Because he has not had a chance to ask anything I will ask Lord Hollick if he would like to ask the last question? Lord Hollick] I wanted to ask rather a general question which went back to Lord Butterworth’s question about what is the future for hospitals in this new world. Can you just give us a very quick overview of the future of the economics of the National Health Service and how it will be impacted by all of these dramatic changes that seem to afford the opportunity for considerable concentration of resources and more efficient use of resources? Chairman 432. May I interject before you begin. A three or four sentence answer is all that we have time for and a written reply will suffice. (Dr Smith) I was trying to put together just a sound bite. There are two elements which will constrain the economic climate of the hospitals in the future. The first is that medicine in its widest sense is continuing to expand. We are not stopping doing what was done a century ago, we have just expanded what we can do and each horizon is more difficult. The influence of telematics or superhighways or whatever will not dramatically alter. In fact it may accelerate that advance. In those economic terms the health service will be more demanding. The opposite side of that is that the superhighway hopefully will change practice by using best practice and changing the economics that way so it will be a balancing act. I have to say that I think demand will exceed the retrenchment but within it the communications side will dramatically change with people not pushing all this about at vast expense, with people being able to communicate much quicker, people being able to do things outside the hospital, even outside general practice, from the home, that will actually in that way modify the economics. (Dr Macara) Could I just add, if I may, that in short I would hope that the developments we envisage will enable us to make our health service needs led rather than, as they are at the moment, demand led and that that should be if not more efficient at least more equitable and more fair. Chairman] Thank you very much, Dr Macara and colleagues, that was very helpful. INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY support for Lord Walton’s bill; and These points are addressed below: Confidentiality is central to the doctor-patient relationship which should be a partnership of mutual trust. Patients are in an extremely vulnerable state when faced by health professionals including doctors. They are not aware, for example, what features of their physical, mental or social status are and which are not relevant to the diagnosis, treatment and/management of their condition. Patients must therefore be prepared to share honestly information with their doctor if their doctor is to do their best by the patient. In order to encourage this, patients must be assured that sensitive information passed on to their doctors will not normally be divulged to another without permission.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32218631_0020.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
