The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has raised concerns over the £300m sale of NHS patient records to a US private equity firm in a national newspaper report.
Speaking to the Guardian, DAUK called for greater transparency and safeguards after TPG bought Optum UK, the firm behind the electronic patient record system used by most GP practices in England.
DAUK said: “Private equity now owns the plumbing of English general practice. The GP records of more than half the country sit on a system controlled by a firm whose business model is returns for investors, not care for patients, and the public found out after the fact.
“We want the government to set out what safeguards exist, what happens to the data if TPG later sells the asset, and why none of this was put to parliament.”
Read the Guardian article in full.
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