October 25th 2024
A new Bill which aims to allow people’s data to be easily transferable across the NHS and social care has been introduced to Parliament.
Delivered by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), the bill will require IT suppliers for the health and care sector to ensure their systems meet common information standards to enable data sharing across platforms. The aim is to “lay the foundations for patient information to flow safely, securely, and seamlessly and ultimately to improve clinical outcomes, speed up the delivery of care, and reduce duplication”.
IT providers provide essential products for day-to-day clinical tasks in the health and social care system, however they are currently not uniformly based on information standards that enable information to be accessed and shared in real time across the entire health and social care system.
DSIT said that the measures will be underpinned by a revamped Information Commissioner’s Office, with a new structure and powers of enforcement.
It added that:
“IT systems in the NHS operate to the highest standards of security and all organisations have governance arrangements in place to ensure the safe, legal storage and use of data,” and “vital safeguards will remain in place to track and monitor how personal data is used, giving peace of mind to patients”.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, said:
“I know people worry about Big Brother, which is why data will only be shared to the most relevant staff and anybody using data must comply with strict security protocols.”
Responding to the announcement, Michelle Corrigan, Programme Director of Better Security, Better Care at the Digital Care Hub said:
“Digital Care Hub fully supports improvements in interoperability and safe and appropriate data sharing to improve care. We will work with Government, the care sector and people who draw on services to ensure that the information standards and changes outlined in this Bill work for social care as well as the NHS. As we said in our Manifesto for digitisation in the adult care sector this summer, social care providers of all sizes must be supported to understand, implement and benefit from the introduction of standards for their IT suppliers.”
Digital Care Hub’s manifesto called on Government to:
- Co-design data standards with care providers and fund an implementation and support programme for the sector.
- Enable role-based access to data so that all staff supporting an individual can access the data they require.
- Reduce the data collection burden on social care providers by collecting data once and re-using it and by automating data collection as far as possible.
- Generate and share data insights from different systems with care providers in order to monitor trends and improve the quality and effectiveness of care.
About the Data (Use and Access) Bill 2024 and public services
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