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Head of Health and Social Care at techUK, Adrian Baker responds to the National Data Guardian's recommendations.

Responding to last weeks publication of the National Data Guardian's review of data security, consent and opt-outs, Adrian Baker, Head of Health and Social Care at techUK said,

"We warmly welcome this comprehensive review. Dame Fiona's recommendations for clarity on patient consent, centred on trust and citizen confidence, are echoed by industry and are integral to the guiding principles outlined in techUK's paper, Achieving safe and effective information sharing in health and social care.

techUK strongly concurs with the need to raise public awareness on the benefits and uses of data in health and social care. Data is the fundamental underpinning to improvements and innovations going forward. It will allow us to analyse broad epidemiological trends with more impact than ever before, and facilitate per patient costing analysis. It will allow us to make use of the wealth of information from the 100k genome project, and facilitate self-management and care at home.

To realise this, it is essential for people to own their personal confidential information, so that they can demand more of those working to improve the quality of health and social care. They can only do this if they are confident that their data are kept safe. That is why the development and implementation of a clear and consistent approach to information governance and security standards is included as a recommendation in both Dame Fiona's review and our own principles.

The government and NHS have spearheaded some of the most effective public health awareness campaigns in the last few decades, and techUK calls on similar effort and resources to be invested to ensure that the sensible approaches to security suggested by the report are known to the public so that concerns are reduced and do not adversely influence the sharing of data. Similar investment is also needed to raise public awareness of the massive potential the sharing of data can bring.

The NHS rightly has to accommodate the small percentage of those that wish to opt-out of sharing their data, but this should not impact on the majority that want and expect joined up care supported by securely shared information. There is wide consensus that it is essential we think about the outcomes we want and work backwards on the best way to get there. Whilst security is paramount, we must be wary that it does not adversely impact on usability and convenience to the extent that it has negative influence on efficiency and outcomes. Similarly, focusing on outcomes means that we must ensure that local data flows are linkable to national data.

A further recommendation we made was to move toward closer collaboration between the technology industry and government. We hope that as Dame Fiona's findings are consulted on and implemented we can build on the positive engagement that already happens in NHS England, HSCIC and at local government level. techUK is well placed to work across the health and social care sector to provide guidance on security techniques that will ensure that security does not become a blocker or excuse not to share data.

Ultimately, improved data sharing means better, more effective care for all. Citizen trust and data security remain the most important enablers of this change, and techUK and its members are committed to working with government to achieve this."