Nearly three-quarters of UK adults would share data from wearable devices with their GP

UK adults are happy to share health data with the NHS, but many don't want the data to be passed on to third parties

A whopping 74 per cent of UK adults are happy to share data from wearable devices like fitness bands with their GP to help them monitor their health, according to research from professional services firm KPMG.

The rise of wearable devices like FitBit and Apple Watch has led to many speculating that they will transform the healthcare sector, along with other sensors and technologies that make up the Internet of Things.

But while consumers trust their health data to be shared with their GP, only eight per cent of consumers would be happy for their health data to be processed by a private firm, while 60 per cent said they would not want their health data shared or stored with a private firm.

Caroline Rivett, director in KPMG's cyber security practice, said the findings indicate that consumers are becoming tired of the intrusive nature of businesses that they don't trust.

Many UK adults (48 per cent) said they would allow the NHS to add their medical records to a single national database so that it could be accessed by any medical practitioner in the country - a project dubbed National Programme for IT (NPfIT), was attempted by the NHS back in 2002, but after years of delays and issues, was dismantled. It is estimated to have cost the government £10bn of taxpayers' money.

Meanwhile, 46 per cent of respondents said they would be happy for their medical records to be shared anonymously in order to aid medical research, 30 per cent specifically said that they would not want this to happen, while many others were undecided.

Sharing anonymous data with private firms and research companies is part of the NHS's controversial care.data scheme. The scheme, which involves extracting data from GPs, aims to improve the way that the NHS allocates resources, and could prove useful for third-party researchers investigating the effectiveness of certain drugs, for example. But unlike the NPfIT, care.data doesn't aim to create a single national database.

The KPMG report suggests that many consumers would want to opt-out of the care.data scheme, if given the choice.