More than a million people opted out of NHS data-sharing in one month in a huge backlash against government plans to make patient data available to private companies, the Observer has revealed.
Under the scheme, GP health data for everyone in England, with identities partially removed, would be made available to researchers and companies for healthcare research and planning. The scheme is more extensive than current GP data-sharing arrangements.
But after the proposals were quietly announced in May, doctors’ leaders objected to the short six-week deadline for the public to opt out of the scheme, while privacy campaigners warned the process to remove identities could be reversed.
Read the whole story at The Guardian: NHS data grab on hold as millions opt out