[Gllug] NHS opt out

[Dr David Reed]

Mike Brodbelt wrote:
> Martin A. Brooks wrote:
>   
>> Christopher Hunter wrote:
>>     
>>>> Do I want a million or so NHS employees to be able to see my medical 
>>>> details?  Yes.
>>>>     
>>>>         
>>> Do you want ANYONE to be able to see your medical records, including
>>> potential employers, insurance companies, Uncle Tom Cobbley and all?
>>>   
>>>       
>> I don't think I could care less.
>>     
>
> Many people would though - I know of one person who was almost refused
> life insurance due to his admission that he had regular HIV tests. This
> was a few years ago now, but the insurers believed his lifestyle must be
> one that thought was over-risky. In reality, he was a regular blood
> donor.....
>
> There is a lot people can infer from medical records, and it's also easy
> to infer incorrectly. I certainly don't want carte blanche access to my
> meidcal records for all and sundry - not because they contain anything
> particularly interesting, but because if they're accessed without my
> knowledge decisions may be made based on erroneous assumptions, and I'll
> never even get the chance to correct them, as it all goes on behind
> closed doors, and the patient/data subject never gets the chance to be
> aware of a problem, let alone fix it.
>
> Mike
>   
Mike is absolutely right on this. If you can't get insurance, you can't 
buy any property, unless you have so much money that you don't need a 
mortgage. This is creating the potential for corruption that we do not 
need. Many years ago, I watched someone's life destroyed because a 
corrupt policeman used his access to the police database to sell 
information. Naturally, he retired on a pension. Many of the people who 
will have access to this information are poorly paid and particularly 
vulnerable to temptation. As an historian, I find this a fascinating 
example of how incompetence, ignorance, vanity and poor judgement on the 
part of a small group of people in a position of power will have a 
devastating, negative, long-term impact on millions of citizens. As one 
of that number, I am appalled.

David Reed
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