{"text":[[{"start":6.85,"text":"Widening control of sensitive medical data under government plans for a single patient record risks opening a “Pandora’s Box” and undermining trust in GPs, the UK’s main doctors’ union has warned."}],[{"start":19.35,"text":"Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, told the FT that family doctors would encourage their patients to opt out of data sharing if they were replaced as the legal data controller of their records. "}],[{"start":33.5,"text":"The warning from the union, which is at odds with the government over doctors’ pay, comes ahead of legislative changes due to be announced in the King’s Speech on Wednesday. "}],[{"start":42.25,"text":"Under the plans, GPs and hospitals will be required to share patient data to create the Single Patient Record (SPR), or patient passport. "}],[{"start":50.45,"text":"The SPR would bring together data from GP surgeries, hospitals and other care settings, which ministers said would improve co-ordination between services and give clinicians faster access to patient notes, some of which are still on paper."}],[{"start":64.65,"text":"However, noting that GPs are currently the legal data controllers for patient records held by their practices, Bramall-Stainer questioned how GP data would flow into the new system and what would be done with it. "}],[{"start":76.2,"text":"“If legislation takes data responsibilities off us and it gives it to the politicians, they can then make any decisions they see fit, including the selling of data,” Bramall-Stainer said."}],[{"start":87.5,"text":"“I expect if they push this through vast swaths of the population will seek to opt out of sharing their data altogether and GPs will help facilitate this if it’s in their patients’ interests.”"}],[{"start":99.9,"text":"In April, medical data from half a million UK volunteers was briefly put up for sale on a website owned by China’s Alibaba following a breach of the UK Biobank health information database. "}],[{"start":110.9,"text":"Referencing the incident, Bramall-Stainer said there were “reasonable grounds for concern” over how the government protected data."}],[{"start":118.30000000000001,"text":"There were 63mn patients registered with a GP in England with 33.5mn consultations taking place each and every month, she said, noting that this made GP records one of the richest longitudinal health data sets in the world."}],[{"start":133.25,"text":"“Arguably, it could be monetised to help a lot of the NHS and government’s woes and I think people would be entirely comfortable with that,” she said, provided there was transparency “about how you share it, when you share it, what you share, and with whom”. "}],[{"start":147.6,"text":"She added: “I think it’s right that the public and GPs are very anxious about getting these answers.”"}],[{"start":153.2,"text":"Health secretary Wes Streeting has described the creation of the SPR as a “game-changer” that will enable NHS staff to see the full picture of a patient’s medical record, “allowing them to deliver better care faster and more conveniently, and even saving lives”."}],[{"start":169.1,"text":"However, Bramall-Stainer said the implications of centralising sensitive health data needed to be carefully considered."}],[{"start":176.1,"text":"“Once you have opened Pandora’s Box, you are never going to be able to get the data back,” she warned."}],[{"start":181.9,"text":"“You can see how in the wrong hands at any future juncture this could become markedly dystopian.”"}],[{"start":187.9,"text":"Government officials rejected the suggestion that GPs would lose control over patient records under the plans, insisting they would still manage the data created and held by them to care for those on their registers."}],[{"start":200.3,"text":"They said the SPR would not replace existing GP IT systems or hospital electronic patient records, but would instead integrate with them to allow data to be brought together whenever needed to support patient care. "}],[{"start":213.15,"text":"GP patient confidentiality would not be undermined by the changes as the SPR was being designed to protect personal data, they added. "}],[{"start":229.7,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778636602_1800.mp3"}