Purpose:
There are occasions when medical data needs to be shared with Public Health England, the Local Authority Director of Public Health, or the Health Protection Agency, either under a legal obligation or for reasons of public interest or their equivalents in the devolved nations.
What are my Options?
None, we have legal obligations to share certain types of information.
Public health encompasses everything from national smoking and alcohol policies, the management of epidemics such as flu, the control of large scale infections such as TB and Hepatitis B to local outbreaks of food poisoning or Measles.
Certain illnesses are also notifiable; the doctors treating the patient are required by law to inform the Public Health Authorities, for instance Scarlet Fever.
This will necessarily mean your personal and health information being shared with the Public Health organisations.
Some of the relevant legislation includes:
- The Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/659)
- The Health Protection (Local Authority Powers) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/657)
- the Health Protection (Part 2A Orders) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/658)
- Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984
- Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1988
- The Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002