Dear Patients,

On Thursday 2nd September 2021 the General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR), allowing patient data from GP records to be extracted and sent to NHS Digital for the purposes of planning and research, was put off again indefinitely. This is after more than one million people opted out of the NHS data-sharing in one month.

GP Practices in Tower Hamlets, have been at the forefront of this debate over the government plan to share medical records where we raised concerns about confidentiality. Refusal to hand over patient data until certain conditions were met was started via a letter by GPs in Tower Hamlets and then signed by a total of 113 GP Practices across the country.

This is great news however, there is still caution and we believe the government has yet to convince us that patient data will be safe.

Patients can still decide to formally opt-out by sending us a form, certifying their choice of not sharing their GP patient data with NHS Digital for planning and research purposes. Follow this link to download the opt-out form: https://medconfidential.org/how-to-opt-out/.

If patients also want to stop their non-GP data, such as a hospital or clinic treatments, or any anonymised data previously extracted by NHS digital, being used for purposes other than their direct care (e.g. for research and planning), patients need to opt-out by filling in an online form to prevent this information being processed any further. This form can be completed directly on the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/manage-your-choice/.