Patients ‘would not trust handover of health data to tech giants’

THE MAJORITY of the public would not trust NHS patient data being in the hands of multinational tech giants, even if it is made anonymous and unidentifiable, a survey suggests.

While seven in 10 people acknowledged that sharing anonymous patient data could improve healthcare and help develop more effective treatments, the same amount indicated that they would feel more comfortable with research undertaken by organisations such as universities and companies regulated and residing in the UK.

Only 13 per cent of the 2081 UK adults surveyed by YouGov claimed they could trust multinational big tech companies to handle anonymised NHS patient data in a confidential manner, with 76 per cent saying they do not support such information being analysed in countries which may have different laws governing data security and confidentiality to the UK.

“There’s little doubt that new technologies will play a part in delivering care in future, and the results from this study confirm that most people support the use of anonymised patient data for medical research purposes,” said Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association.

“There is also widespread support for data to be safeguarded and analysed in the UK – and the Patients Association agrees that data should be used only for research purposes, and never accessed or used inappropriately.

“The sharing of patients’ information between care institutions is essential to delivering joined-up care that works for the patient, and it is vitally important that this is done – with all appropriate safeguards, to ensure that sensitive information remains confidential.”

A total of 102 MPs also took part in the survey, commissioned by health technology firm Sensyne Health, with only 58 per cent suggesting that they would prefer the analysis of anonymous NHS patient data to be undertaken by a UK company than a multinational one – more Labour MPs felt this way (74 per cent) compared with Conservative MPs (53 per cent).

Eight in 10 MPs said the Government should take steps to ensure that NHS data is protected as a national asset.