§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the potential contribution of the academic computer network Super Janet to patient care; and what steps she is taking to preserve the confidentiality of any patient information transferred to such a network, and to ensure the security and integrity of any NHS system to which an external network might. be connected.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Department is monitoring the work currently being undertaken at the Hammersmith and Queen Charlotte's hospitals to assess the potential benefits and problems associated with the use of the Super Janet network.
As regards the confidentiality of information, any person controlling personal health data who proposes to put them onto a computer network must abide by the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1984. In addition, the national health service-wide networking programme is addressing the security implications of connections to external networks including Super Janet.