The Impact of the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on the Information Governance Toolkit in Health and Social Care with Special Reference to Primary Care in England

Abstract

The desire for eHealth systems (technology) is ever growing as public institutions (governments), healthcare providers, and its users (patients) see the gains that could possibly arise from having systems like databases of patient health information in a single place which will facilitate the way healthcare can be access by patients and their caregivers. The aim of this paper is to provide a supportive environment for the health and social care workplace with special reference in the Primary Care sector in England on the impact and changes to the information governance toolkit (IGTK) as a result of the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which will be implemented in full from May 2018 as agreed by the UK Government thereby replacing the UK Data Protection Act of 1998. These challenges will also include the implementation of the National Data Guardian (NDG) review of data security and opt-outs amongst others.