[medinformatics] U.K. Patients Can Opt Out of National Health Info Database

[Medical Informatics News]

Interesting article in the*U.K.’s Guardian Unlimited. Reportedly,*National
Health Service patients are to be asked whether they want*their personal medical history to be included in a new
national electronic database that can be accessed by practitioners, paramedics and hospital staff throughout England.
Those worried that the information could be abused will be entitled to have it removed from the system or placed in an
electronic “sealed envelope”, to be opened only in*an emergency. However, patients restricting access to their
records in this way were cautioned that they run the risk of medical personnel making mistakes in an emergency through
lack of relevant information about previous medical conditions or allergies.

http://medicalinformatics.weblogsinc...4000050028928/