Politico reports the British government is considering a plan to sell patient health data to private organizations. New guidelines state patient data will be collected and stored in a centralized database run by NHS Digital. The decision comes after the British government dropped their care.data plan after two independent reviews criticized the plan over poor consent and a lack of transparency regarding where patient data would be shared. The government is saying data sharing will only be for the patients’ benefit. “We have a strong legal framework to make sure NHS Digital only shares personal information where there is a clear health or care purpose,” a Department of Health spokesperson said. “This means data will only ever be used to deliver real benefits for people and puts beyond any doubt that data can be shared for commercial insurance or other solely commercial purposes.”
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