The Dorset Care Record is the first shared health and social care record in England to work through the complexities of handling and sharing sensitive records from NHS Digital’s Personal Demographic Service as marked on the NHS Spine.
These restricted records are used to protect the location of vulnerable patients in high risk categories, such as adoption and witness protection.
Andy Hadley, technical solution architect for the Wessex Care Records, said: “The Dorset Care Record is leading the way in this area, ensuring that we do share relevant information to support the care of this small number of people, often with complex health needs, whilst keeping their sensitive information, often address and prior identity, secure.
Previously, if a record was marked as sensitive, it would not be shared, whilst prior entries from other organisations, may have been visible. “
NHS Digital has a duty to maintain a national register of NHS patients and this responsibility is fulfilled by using the Personal Demographic Service (PDS), which is the authoritative source of NHS demographic data.
This is then used by all NHS and Social Care organisations to ensure people are uniquely identified (so that for example a pathology result is stored against the right patient record).
Patients registered with the NHS have to have a record on the PDS. Although they cannot opt out, in certain circumstances, they can request that their record is marked “Sensitive”, which limits the details that can be seen by anyone viewing their PDS record to name, NHS number and date of birth. No contact or location details are visible.
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