Legal Issues : Data Protection Act Essay

The Data Protection Act (1998) requires that personal details and information must be kept secure and confidential. Confidentiality is necessary in any Health and Care Social setting because it maintains between the individuals and the organisation. An environment of trust encourages people to be open and honest with those who care for them. They provide all the details necessary so that they receive the best care possible. The employers are accountable to the regulators for protecting confidentiality .Preserving privacy and confidentiality is essential so that they do not risk the discipline of being struck off a professional register. Each member of the staff has a responsibility to ensure that the care record are accurate recorded. A clear information will aid patients to participate fully in decision making about their

Data Protection Act 1998 – gives individuals the right to know what information is held about them, and those that processes personal information must comply with eight principles, which makes sure that personal information is fairly and lawfully processed; processed for limited purposes; adequate, relevant and not excessive; accurate and up to date; not kept for longer than is necessary; processed in line with your rights; secure; not transferred to other countries without adequate protection;

Confidentiality applies to the children act in many ways it protects children and young peoples information from being put into the wrong hands although the children act does state that the person can obtain the information being held themselves as because of data protection you have the right to access your own files.

The data protection act- the data protection act is legislation put in place to keep personal data confidential. It can promote anti-discriminatory practice as it can stop people finding out information about individuals that the individual wants to stay private. E.g. phone numbers and addresses. These would need to stay private so people don’t find out where you live or what is wrong with you.

The Data Protection Act 1998 is a piece of legislation which defines the law on processing data of people living within the United Kingdom.

covers correct storage and sharing of both manual and electronic information. There are eight principles put in place by the Data Protection Act 1998 to make sure that information is handled properly:

The Data Protection Act states that you must only collect information that you need for a specific purpose and keep it secure, ensure that it is relevant and up to date to guarantee that no changes in medication or health status goes unnoticed or unaccounted

Information Commissioner’s Office (2012) Introduction to The Data Protection Act 1998. [Online] Available from: http://www.ico.org.uk/~/media/documents/library/Corporate/Research_and_reports/ico_presentation_EVOC_20120528.ashx [Accessed: 11th October 2013]

The Data Protection Act 1988 – This act covers the rights of an individual. Written, confidentially, retrieval and handling of verbal information.

According to Dictionary.com confidentiality is “the right of an individual to have personal, identifiable medical information kept private.” The definition for this term is widely known in health care, but when it is applied to adolescents many people do not understand the basics. Doctors are responsible for informing adolescent patients and their parents the privacy a minor is given according to federal and state laws, but in some cases doctors fail to do so. This results in the misunderstanding of minor’s privacy rights, which can lead to the adolescent patient not disclosing significant information, and the parents assuming they have the right to all of their child’s medical records. Because of this, it is important for adolescents and their parents to understand the nature of confidentiality in health care.

This act applies to all organisations that process data relating to their staff and customers. It is the main legal framework in UK that protects personal data. The act contains 8 data protection principles which are:

The Data Protection Act 1998 is a piece of legislation that controls how an individual’s personal information is used by organisations, businesses and the government. This Act ensures that HR departments only collect data from individuals is covered by what we are allowed to collect under the Act, relevant and not excessive, we must also be sure that data is not stored for longer than necessary. We must ensure that data is stored securely and confidentially; and that we are open about the reasons why we are collecting and storing the data.

a) Data protection Act (1998) – DPA ‘It is the main piece of legislation that governs the protection of personal data in the UK.’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_Protection_Act_1998).

The Data Protection Act 1998 defines UK law on the processing of data on identifiable living people. The act contains eight principles, which all organisations processing personal information must conform to, these are:

The data protection act protects people who are identifiable from their information and data being shared. The information will be bank details, address and billing and some other personal details.