The Department of Health has confirmed that the Department of Health and Social Care (England) initiative on the collection of health and social care data held by GP practices does not apply to Northern Ireland GP Practices.
Dan West, Chief Digital Information Officer at the Department of Health, said: “We can assure people that this new scheme only applies to GP practices in England, therefore people in Northern Ireland do not need to take any action.
“In Northern Ireland the information held by health and social care is governed by strict information governance protocols. Patients’ privacy is very important, their data is used for research purposes only when consent has been obtained or when it has been made anonymous. A consultation is planned with the public in Northern Ireland about how their data can help the health and care services to improve while maintaining privacy.”