References

Ald95

``Nurse sacked for altering records after baby's death'', K Alderson, The Times 29 November 95 p 6

Amo94

`Fundamentals of Computer Security Technology', E Amoroso, Prentice Hall 1994

And96

``Medical System Security --- Interim Guidelines'', RJ Anderson, to appear in British Medical Journal 13th January 1996

Aus95

`Australian Standard 4400: Personal privacy protection in health care information systems', Standards Australia, 1995

AC95a

`Setting the Records Straight --- A Study of Hospital Medical Records', Audit Commission,, June 1995

AC95b

`For Your Information --- A Study of Information Management and Systems in the Acute Hospital', Audit Commission,, July 1995

ACH95

`Keeping Information Confidential', Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales, May 1995

AD94

``Security of Health Information Systems in France: what we do will no longer be different from what we tell'', FA Albert, L Duserre, International Journal of Biomedical Computing v 35 (supplement, 1994) pp 201--204

AIS95

`AIS --- Advanced Information System', FHS Computer Unit, 1995

Boy94

`Draft guidance for the NHS on the confidentiality, use and disclosure of personal health information', N Boyd, Department of Health, 10 August 1994

Bru95

``Is your health history anyone's business?'' McCall's Magazine 4/95 p 54, reported by M Bruce on Usenet newsgroup comp.society.privacy, 22 Mar 1995

BMA95

`A Bill Governing Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Health Information', British Medical Association 1995

Cae95

WJ Caelli, personal communication, July 1995

CR94

``Who's reading your medical records?'' Consumer Reports, Oct 94 pp 628--632

DGMW94

`How to Keep a Clinical Confidence', B Darley, A Griew, K MsLoughlin, J Williams, HMSO 1994

DL95

Data Logic product information at http://www.datlog.co.uk/

DPA84

`Data Protection Act', 1984

DPR95

`Identity Cards: A Consultation Document CM2879 --- Response of the Data Protection Registrar', October 1995

EU91

`Information Technology Security Evaluation Criteria', EU document COM(90) 314 (June 1991)

EU95

`On the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (final)', Directive of the European Parliament and the Council, adopted by the Council on 24 July 1995

Gil95

``MDU Muddle re Death Pills'', C Gilbert, gp-uk mailing list, 23rd October 1995

GC95

`A Strategy for Security of the Electronic Patient Record', A Griew, R Currell, Institute for Health Informatics, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, 14th March 1995

GMC1

`Good medical practice', General Medical Council, 178--202 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6JE

GMC2

`Confidentiality, General Medical Council, 178--202 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6JE

GTP93

``Privacy and Security of Personal Information in a New Health Care System'', LO Gostin, J Turek-Brezina, M Powers et al., Journal of the American Medical Association v 20 (24/11/93) pp 2487--2493

Haw95

``Confidentiality of personal information: a patient survey'', A Hawker, Journal of Informatics in Primary Care, 1995 (March) pp 16--19

HRM93

``RMs need to safeguard computerised patient records to protect hospitals'', Hospital Risk Management 1993 v 9 (September) pp 129--140

JCG88

``GMSC and RCGP guidelines for the extraction and use of data from general practitioner computer systems by organisations external to the practice'', Appendix III in `Committee on Standards of Data Extraction from General Practice Guidelines' Joint Computer Group of the GMSC and RCGP, 1988

JHC94

``Nurse Jailed for Hacking into Computerised Prescription System'', British Journal of Healthcare Computing and Information Management v 1 (94) p 7

LB94

``Your Secrets for Sale'', N Luck, J Burns, The Daily Express, 16/2/94 pp 32--33

MRI94

``Integrated Health Delivery Needs Integrated Health Record Systems'', Medical Records Institute newsletter v 3 no 5 (December 94) pp 1--9

Mac94

Letter from AW Macara to JS Metters, 31 October 1994, on `Draft guidance for the NHS on the confidentiality, use and disclosure of personal health information'

Mar95

``Fear of Flowing'', DC Markwell, Proceedings of the 1995 Annual Conference of The Primary Health Care Specialist Group of the British Computer Society, pp 36--42

NHS92

`Handling confidential patient information in contracting: A Code of Practice', NHS Information Management Group EL(92)60, catalogue number 2009(c), news info 132

NHS95

`The Handbook of Information Security --- Information Security within General Practice', NHS Executive Information Management Group E5209 (May 1995)

NZ94

`Health Information Privacy Code 1994', New Zealand Privacy Commissioner, 1994/1/1

OTA93

`Protecting Privacy in Computerized Medical Information', Office of Technology Assessment, US Government Printing Office, 1993

PK95

``GP Practice computer security survey'', RA Pitchford, S Kay, Journal of Informatics in Primary Care, September 95, pp 6--12

Ros95

``Institutionell-organisatorische Gestaltung informationstechnischer
Sicherungsinfrostrukturen'', A Roß nagel, Datenschutz und Datensicherung (5/95) pp 259--269

RAC+93

`Interim Code of Practice for Computerised Medical Records in General Practice', Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, February 93

RFA93

`Requirements for accreditation, general medical practice computer systems', NHS management executive 1993

RL95

``For Sale: your secret medical records for £ 150'', L Rogers, D Leppard, Sunday Times 26/11/95 pp 1--2

RSM92

`Computers in Medical Audit', second edition, M Rigby, A McBride, C Shields, Royal Society of Medicine, London, 1992

Sch95

`Applied Cryptography', B Schneier, second edition, Wiley 1995

See95

``Marketing use of medical DB'', M Seecof, Usenet newsgroup comp.risks 17.12

Smu94

`Health Care Information: Access and Protection', RH Smuckler, Institute for Primary Care Informatics, 1994

Som93

`Medical Ethics Today --- Its Practice and Philosophy', A Sommerville, BMA 1993

Tho95

``Sex Stalker Plays Doctor to Trick Victims'', M Thomas, PA newswire no 1236, 7/7/95

TCP+93

`The Canadian trusted Computer Product Evaluation Criteria', Communications Security Establishment, Government of Canada, January 1993

TCS+85

`Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria', US Department of Defense document 5200.28-STD, December 1985

USA95

``Online medical records raise privacy fears'', USA Today, 22/3/95 pp 1A--2A

Woo95

``The computer-based patient record and confidentiality'', B Woodward, New England Journal of Medicine v 333 no 21 (95) pp 1419--1422

Wri91

`The Law of Electronic Commerce: EDI, Fax and Email', B Wright, Little, Brown (fourth edition with supplement) 1994

WHC95

`Workshop on Health Care --- Confidentiality: discussing current initiatives', held at the BMA on 4th April 1995; transcript supplied by RH Pyne

The sixth principle of the current Data Protection Act [DPA84] states that personal information `shall not be held for longer than is necessary'. A more colourful principle is stated by the Information and Privacy Commissioner, British Columbia, Canada: `The right to be forgotten, including the ultimate anonymization or destruction of almost all personal information' [IPC94]. It is thus conceivable that a legal action could be brought for the destruction of a medical record before the usual eight year period had expired. We know of no case where early record destruction has been requested; but we merely use the term `appropriate time period'.