The details of all NHS patients has been sold to insurers, it has been revealed.
The revelations come just days after the government announced its intention to opt all NHS users into a government super-database in May.
The database would mean that all of the private medical records and data about NHS patients will be made available to third party businesses and corporations.
Patients were told that they could opt out of the database.
However, now it appears that many of those details have been sold on anyway.
A report by a major society of actuaries discloses that it was able to obtain 13 years of hospital data – covering 47 million patients – in order to help insurance companies “refine” their premiums.
The report by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries details how it was able to use NHS data covering all hospital in-patient stays between 1997 and 2010 to track the medical histories of patients, identified by date of birth and postcode.
It combined that data with information from credit ratings agencies, such as Experian, which record the lifestyle habits of Brits.
It says that by combining hospital data with socio-economic profiles, experts were able to better calculate the likelihood of conditions.
The information could be used as a basis to decide to accept or reject certain patients for insurance.
Akashic Times is the UK’s only online, fully independent not-for-profit fortnightly newspaper that brings you real news from across the globe.
If you want to keep ahead of what is really going on in the world, subscribe to our newspaper via the subscribe button and join our Facebook & Twitter pages. Subscription is completely free ofcourse
Follow Us!