BMA criticises Summary Care Records on Today programme

Patients should be issued with an opt-out form, says the BMA

SCR system should be put on hold, says the BMA

On Radio Four's Today programme this morning Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the BMA Council, explained that the BMA has "serious concerns" that patient medical records are being uploaded too quickly to a national database.

This follows a letter from the British Medical Association (BMA) to health minister Mike O'Brien in which the BMA urged for the rollout of the Summary Care Records (SCR) system to be put on hold. It also asked for independent evaluation of pilot schemes set up to test the security of the system.

The SCR puts basic information about patients' health in England, including details of allergies and medication, onto a central database.

Currently, patients are told by letter before their details go on the system, giving them the chance to opt out.

Meldrum said on the Today programme that as a result of the SCR system being pushed through at “breakneck” speed, some patients are not aware their records are being added to the system and that both patients and doctors are confused about what the SCR will mean for them.

“Doctors and patients need to be fully informed about the benefits of having their personal information stored on the system... and patients need to be able to opt out if they want to,” he said.

Also on the Today programme, Dr Simon Eccles, medical director for Connecting for Health, defended the scheme: “It's incredibly important that where people want it, they will be able to share health information that will save their lives because clinicians will know what is wrong with them," he said.

The original letter from the BMA to the health minister said: "We urge you to consider, as a matter of urgency: (i) a halt to the rollout of the SCR in the areas which have not yet begun their Public Information Programmes; (ii) inclusion of an opt-out form in the information material to patients; and (iii) the permanent withdrawal of BMA comment from the NHS Connecting for Health promotional video."

The NPfIT will link more than 30,000 GPs to nearly 300 hospitals through an online appointments system via the spine. It will also feature a centralised medical records system for 50 million patients, e-prescriptions and faster computer network links.

But the plans for the centralised medical records system (SCR) have received repeated criticism over security fears and a lack of enthusiasm among doctors for the technology.