§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the use of smart card technology in his Department and in the areas for which it is responsible; and what discussions he has had with private companies about the use of smart card technology within his Department. [50483]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 16 April 2002]: The NHS Plan published in July 2000 refers to the possible introduction of smart cards to meet two key business
250W
Table 1: Grant £000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 AIDS Support Grant 16,000 16,500 16,500 Drugs and Alcohol Specific Grant 6,800 8,850 — Mental Health Grant 129,500 148,443 154,443 Training Support Programme 42,500 47,500 57,500 requirements, i.e., to enable patients and healthcare professionals to access medical records, and to store a limited amount of emergency medical data. A number of studies have been conducted within the Department which looked at different options, including smart cards, and biometrics, to meet these business requirements. Our current view is that there are many issues that need to be resolved before decisions can be made about implementing a large-scale scheme involving smart card technology. These include the question of security and confidentiality. There are also technical, legal, cultural, funding and other issues which need to be addressed. The government's approach, therefore, is to test these concepts in pilot projects before considering further a wider use of patient-held smart cards.
The Department is currently funding a programme of pilot projects over a three year period to introduce occupational health smart cards for hospital doctors, initially doctors in training, in England. The company running the projects is TSSI (Thorn Secure Science Ltd.). This is not a patient-held smart card scheme, but we hope to learn lessons about the technology and other issues from this pilot programme.
Ministers and officials at the Department have both formal and informal discussions with private companies on a range of issues, including the possible use of smart card technology in healthcare. The Department is also represented on the Office of the e-Envoy's Smart Card Policy Working Group which includes private companies and other interest groups in its membership.