National Care Service: questions and answers - engagement sessions

Social Care and Health Record

When will integrated social care and health records be online? Will this information automatically be shared?

• We will shortly be undertaking formal 'discovery' work for the integrated social care and health record. This means that we will be engaging with users to better understand their needs and ensure the integrated record is co-designed. Detail of our approach to co-design can be found on our webpage. The work will be driven by the development of the National Care Service but working closely with others including the NHS and social care providers. We will build, test and iterate the creation of the integrated health and social care record over the coming years.
• While our work on the integrated social care and health record is at a very early stage and we are undertaking detailed work to ensure clarity, our current position is that it does not mean all information will be automatically shared – information would only be shared where there is a specific reason to do so. We are scoping an authentication and authorisation process so professionals would only have access to the information needed to discharge their duties. We will ensure individuals can access their integrated social care and health record to help inform decisions about their own care.

Are there not current barriers to join up social care and health records in terms of confidentiality?

• The National Care Service (Scotland) Bill contains two provisions to enable the nationally-consistent integrated and accessible social care and health record: giving ministers the power to establish information sharing regulations (secondary legislation) to support information sharing by and on behalf of the National Care Service and NHS, and an information standards provision so ministers can set standards on how information is collected and stored. Together these provisions are intended to enable the delivery of the integrated record which will ensure there is a consistent approach to how information is gathered and shared to support the efficiency and effectiveness of services.
• We are working to map data flows and understand current barriers to build this into our work on the integrated social care and health record. We will be working in the context of existing laws such as UK General Data Protection Regulations. Elements of the integrated social care and health record will be co-designed so we will work with users to understand the best route forward.
• UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) give individuals a number of rights in relation to their personal data and the integrated social care and health record will protect your data rights (the Information Commissioner's Office provides the full information)

What happens if information in the social care and health record is incorrect? Can I opt-out of having my information shared?

• UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) includes the 'right to rectification' so individuals have the right to have inaccurate data corrected. The integrated social care and health record will ensure individual rights continue to be protected and as part of early planning we intend that there will be a process to request that inaccurate information to be updated. More information on this is available via the ICO website.
• UK General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) give individuals a number of rights in relation to their personal data and the integrated social care and health record will protect your data rights (the Information Commissioner's Office provides the full information.)

What guarantees will be in place to ensure there will be no misuse of information?

• There must be a lawful basis for collecting and using personal information. As part of our early planning we intend that there will be authentication, authorisation and audit processes to ensure information is used for specific purposes, for example for a social care worker or nurse where up-to-date information enables the discharge of their duties.