Dear Doctor,

                         Exercising right to opt out

As you are probably aware, the Government is intending to ask you to transfer
the electronic medical records of your patients onto a national database called
the "spine". They intend you to do this without first seeking the consent of
your patients. It is BMA policy that patients should give their individual
consent prior to their information being transferred on to the national
database.

There are substantial concerns about the privacy and confidentiality of
information transferred onto the national database, not least because promised
software security safeguards called "sealed envelopes" will not be in place
and because the patient's instructions with regard to who may access the
records can be overridden. I do not believe that such a large database, with so
many staff users, can be regarded as secure.

I would be grateful if you would ensure that none of my records held by you are
entered onto the national system. Would you please also file or scan a copy of
this letter in my records and also record my dissent by entering the "Read
code" - '93C3. --- Refused consent for upload to national shared electronic
record.' into my computer record. I am aware of the implications of this
request and will notify you should I change my mind.

This request is itself confidential. Please do not divulge my decision, in an
identifiable manner, to anyone other than to clinicians who are providing care
to me and who might otherwise place information about me on the national care
records service.

Further information for GPs is available online at www.TheBigOptOut.org/for_GPs


Yours sincerely,