Writing in the British Medical Journal, a series of doctors have
said that it is unwise to put the medical records of the entire
population on one computer. The news comes just days after an
investigation by the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
painted a picture of a project in crisis.
Two key witnesses told the PAC that the system's problems were
caused by the fact that doctors were not properly consulted while
it was being designed. Now doctors are saying that the system puts
patient data at risk.
"Workers in hospitals or general practice surgeries might seek
inappropriate access to medical records because of curiosity or
malice, commercial gain or simple error," said Michael Foley in the
article, according to Press Association. Foley is a consultant
anaesthetist at Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital.
"If screens are left on in open areas or passwords compromised,
tracing of access for disciplinary purposes would be difficult,"
said Cook.
The IT system is designed to hold 50 million patient records
when finished, and it is that concentration in one central computer
that has caused the latest controversy.
A central element of the programme, the 'choose and book'
appointment management service, has fallen severely behind planned
usage levels. Designed to manage 100% of appointment bookings by
the end of 2005, the system is being used to manage just 20% of
appointments, according to news site Silicon.com.
Concerns about security have been heightened since a recent
report found that mobile devices can prove an easy way into NHS IT
systems.
Meanwhile a report has discovered that NHS IT system security is
being compromised because of poor or non-existent mobile device
security. Carried out by Pointsec Mobile Technologies and the
British Journal of Healthcare Computing and Information Management,
the survey has found that two thirds of mobile data storage devices
have inadequate security.
"There is much documented evidence of patients who are worried
about the safe-keeping of electronic medical records," said Martin
Allen, managing director of Pointsec, when the survey was released
late last month. "This survey shows that the medical sector
themselves are worried about information being held on mobile
devices which are not being secured by their NHS Trust. It will
only be a matter of time before these weaknesses are
exploited."
