I like everyone in the UK should have had or about to get a leaflet from the NHS titled 'Better information means better care'.
It looks like junk mail so may be thrown away. It is worth having a quick read of this site Paul Lewis (https://twitter.com/paullewismoney) shared on twitter yesterday as the leaflet is next to useless:
http://brief.care-data.info/
Then decide if you want to opt out or remain automatically opted in.
NHS Data Sell Off
Thanks for posting that Andy. I got a leaflet and I was suspicious about the motives but have to admit I haven't put the time in to find out exactly what it means so that link was really useful and will certainly make me opt out.
The whole 'people' profiling industry is really taking off in ways that most people wouldn't imagine. Smart Meters, which the energy companies are trying to force upon us (though you CAN legally opt out of them, regardless of what the companies say) monitor everything about your home life and send it back to the energy companies who then sell the data to advertising companies and law enforcement agencies. It's not just your energy usage that is being gathered with these machines, they actually profile your entire life - from the time you get up in the morning and switch the lights on to when you go to bed. The meters are so 'smart' that they can tell, just from the energy usage signature, every single appliance you use, even down to your choice of brand of electronic toothbrush!
On top of that they allow energy companies to remotely control your usage (they can cut you off centrally), have increased bills in the vast majority of households that have had them and have lead to thousands of law suits in parts of America where they have had them installed where people have gotten sick due to the high levels of pulsed microwave radiation (apparently 80 times that of mobile phones, with signals sent constantly.)
All for the cost of 12bn pounds!
The whole 'people' profiling industry is really taking off in ways that most people wouldn't imagine. Smart Meters, which the energy companies are trying to force upon us (though you CAN legally opt out of them, regardless of what the companies say) monitor everything about your home life and send it back to the energy companies who then sell the data to advertising companies and law enforcement agencies. It's not just your energy usage that is being gathered with these machines, they actually profile your entire life - from the time you get up in the morning and switch the lights on to when you go to bed. The meters are so 'smart' that they can tell, just from the energy usage signature, every single appliance you use, even down to your choice of brand of electronic toothbrush!
On top of that they allow energy companies to remotely control your usage (they can cut you off centrally), have increased bills in the vast majority of households that have had them and have lead to thousands of law suits in parts of America where they have had them installed where people have gotten sick due to the high levels of pulsed microwave radiation (apparently 80 times that of mobile phones, with signals sent constantly.)
All for the cost of 12bn pounds!
Wonder if it's true that 4 in 10 doctors plan to opt out.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/nhs/1 ... ivate.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/nhs/1 ... ivate.html
My Doctors Group Practice did not have the opt out forms, but advised me to go online and download an opt out form, fill it in and bring it into the Surgery.
This I did, why? It should be obvious, with your post code, other agencies can easily cross reference your data with credit reference agencies and electoral registry details.
Please don't try and tell me this will not happen. Money talks and governments are always looking for ways to raise money.
Governments of all hues ALWAYS do this.
So OPT OUT! Before its too late.
This I did, why? It should be obvious, with your post code, other agencies can easily cross reference your data with credit reference agencies and electoral registry details.
Please don't try and tell me this will not happen. Money talks and governments are always looking for ways to raise money.
Governments of all hues ALWAYS do this.
So OPT OUT! Before its too late.
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andyfuller
- Posts: 4619
- Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 12:23 pm
I do like the basic idea of Smart Energy meters in that you get an accurate bill without having to submit meter readings, but these days it is so easy to do via phone apps and so quick it is of no issue really.
I can also see the benefit from the industry view point of load balancing.
But I have huge reservations about all the other info they will be gathering and how it will be used.
The purchase of Nest by Google is a good example of how much companies want to get 'into our homes'.
Having 2 doctors in my family, I know they are both opting out and are constantly on about how the current Government is selling our data etc to 3rd parties and how the NHS is being privatised on the quiet.
This current leaflet makes it sound like this latest data sell off will be of help in our care but it is nothing of the sort, people I have spoke to assumed having read the leaflet that it meant say if they had an accident the Ambulance people would have access to their data which would aid treatment. This is a totally separate thing and nothing to do with the leaflet being sent out at the moment though is worded in such a way that it isn't clear - if they sent out that website as the leaflet I doubt many would remain opted in. Also I don't like how it is an auto opt in. It should be an auto opt out!
I can also see the benefit from the industry view point of load balancing.
But I have huge reservations about all the other info they will be gathering and how it will be used.
The purchase of Nest by Google is a good example of how much companies want to get 'into our homes'.
Having 2 doctors in my family, I know they are both opting out and are constantly on about how the current Government is selling our data etc to 3rd parties and how the NHS is being privatised on the quiet.
This current leaflet makes it sound like this latest data sell off will be of help in our care but it is nothing of the sort, people I have spoke to assumed having read the leaflet that it meant say if they had an accident the Ambulance people would have access to their data which would aid treatment. This is a totally separate thing and nothing to do with the leaflet being sent out at the moment though is worded in such a way that it isn't clear - if they sent out that website as the leaflet I doubt many would remain opted in. Also I don't like how it is an auto opt in. It should be an auto opt out!
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Wainwright
- Posts: 108
- Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:10 pm
The stated reasons for harvesting medical records are worrying enough, but you can *guarantee* that the data will be hacked and all over the internet faster than news of a Justin Bieber/Miley Cyrus/Stephen Fry love triangle.
Thanks for the heads-up - I'll be opting out !!
Thanks for the heads-up - I'll be opting out !!