Whenever you use a health or care service, important information about you is collected in a patient record for that service. Collecting this information helps to make sure you get the best possible care and treatment.
The information collected about you when you use these services can also be used and provided to other organisations. This is for purposes beyond your individual care, for instance to help with:
- improving the quality and standards of care provided
- research into the development of new treatments or services
- preventing illness and diseases
- monitoring safety
- planning services
This may only take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information. All these uses help to provide better health and care for you, your family and future generations. Confidential patient information about your health and care is only used like this where allowed by law.
Most of the time, anonymised data is used for research and planning. This is so that you cannot be identified in which case your confidential patient information isn’t needed.
You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do choose to opt out your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care.
To find out more or to register your choice to opt out, please visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters. On this web page you will:
- see what is meant by confidential patient information
- find examples of when confidential patient information is used for individual care. There are also examples of when it is used for purposes beyond individual care
- find out more about the benefits of sharing data
- understand more about who uses the data
- find out how your data is protected
- be able to access the system to view, set or change your opt-out setting
- find the contact telephone number if you want to know any more or to set/change your opt-out by phone
- see the situations where the opt-out will not apply
You can also find out more about how patient information is used at:
- Patient information and health and care research and
- Introducing patient data - this covers how and why patient information is used, the safeguards and how decisions are made
You can change your mind about your choice at any time.
Data being used or shared for purposes beyond individual care does not include your data being:
- shared with insurance companies or
- used for marketing purposes
Data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement.
Cornwall Council is not currently compliant with the national data opt-out policy. We are working on our technical solution to enable compliance.
