What does the AI ​​plan mean for NHS patient data ?

What does the AI ​​Action Plan say about health data?

The plan, written by technology investor Matt Clifford, does not specifically reference health data but calls for a national data library that can be used by technology startups and researchers to train new models.

However, Starmer was more outspoken on Monday about the use of NHS data, saying there was a “huge opportunity” to improve healthcare. He said: “I don’t think we should take a defensive stance here that prevents the kind of breakthroughs we need.”

NHS trusts have already used patient data to develop AI models to treat conditions such as: High blood pressure And eye diseases.

What concerns are there about using health data in AI?

Personal health data is inherently highly sensitive and its vulnerability in a digital environment has already been highlighted current ransomware attacks have that affected NHS trusts.

Andrew Duncan, director of fundamental AI at Britain’s Alan Turing Institute, says even anonymized health data can be manipulated to identify a patient through a process known as “re-identification,” which involves mixing “anonymized” data with other available data Information can be compared to identify a person.

“Once you start narrowing things down, you can easily start to re-identify people,” he says. Duncan adds that AI models can be trained to prevent re-identification, although “the caveat is that this all has to be done very carefully.”

MedConfidential, which advocates for confidentiality in healthcare, also wants to clarify whether a healthcare record respects patients who have signed an opt-out agreement preventing their data from being used for research and planning in England. Around 6% of NHS patients have signed the opt-out form.

Will the data be used for commercial purposes?

The plan says public and private datasets will enable “innovation from UK start-ups”, suggesting private companies will be able to access the material. Government officials have not ruled out using the data for profit purposes.

However, the plan clearly states that ministers and officials must consider issues of “public trust, national security, privacy, ethics and data protection”.

In 2017, a partnership between the NHS and a private AI company ran afoul of Britain’s data regulator when it found that London’s Royal Free Hospital had breached data protection laws after sharing the personal data of 1.6 million patients with the UK Google’s AI department had handed over DeepMind. The data transfer was part of an experiment with a system for Diagnosis of acute kidney injury.

What could the data be used for?

In his speech on Monday, Starmer used the example of the use of artificial intelligence during a medical emergency last year to identify the exact location of a blood clot in the brain of a stroke victim. He said patient data could be used through AI to “predict and prevent” future strokes.

The AI ​​studies carried out by NHS trusts also point to a range of possible uses, from predicting which patients are most likely to visit the emergency department frequently to identifying people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

What are the legal implications?

Anonymized data does not fall under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), so using the data if it falls into this category would be less legally problematic.

If it is not fully anonymised, the GDPR and common law confidentiality obligations apply, meaning patient consent would be required for use – although there is a public interest exception.

Kate Brimsted, partner at law firm Shoosmiths, said: “True and effective anonymization means the UK’s GDPR would not apply. It would also overcome confidentiality restrictions. However, achieving robust anonymization is no easy task – it is far more complex than simply removing names and other obvious identifiers.”