Medical Information and the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA)

It is not possible to provide  advice on  health care without requiring information about you. This information is held solely for the purposes of advising on your health. The records are stored  on computer and are identified solely by your email address or unique identfier that you have supplied. Med4u does not ask for name and address details and so does not store them.

We have a legal responsibility to keep confidential all the information held about you.  The obligations that the NHS has, together with the rights that every individual enjoys, are set out in the Data Protection Act 1998. We comply with best practice for NHS units such as GP surgeries

Information about you may need to be shared with more than one doctor. Such information is always stripped of any information (such as email address) which could identify an individual. The sharing of medical information is specifically covered by the Act.  It says that the sharing of sensitive, patient related, information is permissible for "medical purposes" provided that it is processed by:

• A health professional - ie, GP, Nurse, Health Visitor
• A person who, though not a health professional, has responsibility to preserve confidentiality

This condition will always be met by our services.

Med4u doctors do not keep personal patient files or notes about you or the advice they have given. The only record we have is the form that you submitted along with the doctor's response returned to you.

To help improve the standards of health care, information from your records may also be used for research and statistical analysis.  In the DPA 1998 "medical purposes" is defined to include "preventative medicine, medical diagnosis, medical research, the provision of care and treatment and the management of healthcare services".

Some research studies involve interviews and questionnaires, in these cases you will be approached to see if you'd like to take part.  Before making a decision to participate you will be made aware if all or part of the information is going to be anonymised.  Wherever possible, information used for such purposes will be anonymised so that it is not possible to identify the patient to whom it relates.

You do have the right to prevent processing and sharing of your information.  However, the professionals involved in your care may encounter difficulties and delays if they are unable to share important health information.

Your Rights

The DPA 1998 gives every individual a number of rights.  In brief, you have the right to:

• Access information held about you - please note: in accordance with the Act a fee may be charged for this service
• Prevent processing of information likely to cause distress
• Prevent use of information about you for direct marketing
• Correct and inaccurate record
• See compensation if you suffer damage
• Have an assessment made if your think the Act has been contravened

We undertake to respect these rights.

Our Obligations

The DPA 1998 imposes a number of obligations on our services.  In brief, these are:

• Information about you will be processed fairly and lawfully
• Information will be used solely for planning and delivering  health advice and will not be used in a inappropriate way
• The information recorded about you will be adequate and relevant
• You will be sent a copy of all information we hold about you
• Information will be kept no longer the necessary
• All of the information will be processed within the service in accordance with your rights
• We will take all necessary measure to prevent unlawful processing, accidental loss, damage or destruction
• Information will not be transferred to a country outside the European Economic Area, unless the country provides adequate protection of your rights as regards the processing of information

We undertake to fulfill these obligations