New guidance has been published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in a bid to improve data transparency in health and social care.
The comprehensive guide removes any ambiguity over the definition of ‘transparency’ and gives organisations regulatory certainty on what they should be doing to keep people informed about how their personal information is being used.
The ICO highlights that its publication is for:
- Health and social care service providers (public, private or third sector)
- Universities
- Suppliers
- Policymakers
- Information governance staff
- Data protection officers
- Media teams
“Being transparent is essential to building public trust in health and social care services,” said Anne Russell, head of regulatory policy projects at the ICO.
“If people clearly understand how and why their personal information is being used, they are likely to feel empowered to share their health information to both access care and support initiatives such as medical research.”
The guidance aims to help organisations assess their level of transparency and how to reach an appropriate level of transparency.
The guidance comprises the feedback from a public consultation that ended early this year on health and social care transparency.
Anne added: “As new technologies are developed and deployed in the health sector, our personal information is becoming more important than ever to boost the efficiency and public benefit of these systems.
“With this bespoke guidance, we want to support health and social care organisations by improving their understanding of effective transparency, ensuring that they are clear, open and honest with everyone whose personal information is being used.”
National Health Executive’s dedicated IT infrastructure online conference will give healthcare leaders from across the sector a chance to discuss data and information transparency later this year. Everything from data and cybersecurity, all the way to interoperability and cloud services will be discussed by experts voices from the NHS.
Image credit: iStock
