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 BMA member Dr Paul Cundy"You are sending electronic postcards for people to read"  real 28k |
Patient confidentiality 'at risk on internet'
Many more patients are contacting their doctors via email |
The increasing use of email and internet communication by doctors risks patients' private information being made public, says the British Medical Association (BMA).
Doctors and patients are being warned the exchange of information via the health service's own computer network, and other email systems is not secure unless messages are encrypted.
Enquiries by email and even electronic consultations are becoming increasingly popular, as are medical websites which allow doctors to exchange information over the internet.
NHSnet, a national computer system which aims to link GPs to hospitals and health authorities, is at the heart of the government's plans to fully computerise the NHS.
Internet communication `unsafe' |
The chairman of the BMA's information technology committee for GPs, Dr Paul Cundy, said there could be no guarantee the communication between doctor and patient was not being intercepted en route.
He is calling on the Department of Health to issue clear guidance on the issue so doctors know where they stand.
Dr Cundy said: "Internet communications are in the open. You just don't know who is taking copies, who is reading it while it is in transit, where it is stored or who has access to it.
Message must be secure
"No network is secure. The concept must be engendered that the message needs to be secure. There is a proliferation of medical websites and email services which are not taking that on board."
Doctors had two choices, he added - to withdraw the services or make them secure by encryption, otherwise they risked breaking their duty to protect patient confidentiality.
A breach of patient confidentiality can result in a doctor being referred to the General Medical Council for disciplinary action.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "The BMA is right to be concerned at the transmission of patient information over the internet. So are we.
"That is why we are currently reviewing the security of electronic storage and transmission of patient data in co-operation with the medical profession."
New guidance is due to be issued to the NHS early in the new year.
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05 Mar 99 | E-conomy |
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01 Aug 99 | Health |
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28 May 99 | Health |
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