Symposium to consider a model of ‘the Public Interest’ in Research Access to Confidential Health Information

From 9:45, Friday 20th September 2013
Moot Court, School of Law (Bartolomé House), University of Sheffield

What is 'the public interest'?

The idea of ‘the public interest’ is relevant to decisions on the disclosure of confidential health information for research purposes without patient consent. For example, Regulations under section 251 of the NHS Act 2006 allow the common law duty of confidence to be set aside if, inter alia, the processing is “(a) in the interests of improving patient care (b) or in the public interest”.  Neither the Act nor the Regulations indicate how the term should be interpreted or applied in this context. Since 1st April 2013 the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSC IC) has gained new powers to establish and operate systems for the collection or analysis of patient information from health care professionals under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. In some cases, the Regulations remain important to the legality of disclosures of confidential patient information collected under these powers (see notes below). It is more important than ever that we operate with a clear understanding of how the ‘public interest’ in disclosure of confidential health information for research purposes may be established.

Take part in the discussion

Mark Taylor, School of Law, University of Sheffield, seeks to develop a concept of the public interest that could be relied upon by decision-makers in this context. It relies upon members of the public having ‘reason to accept’ the disclosure in question. This one-day meeting provides an opportunity to discuss Taylor’s current thinking alongside alternative models and to review and challenge the relevance of “public acceptance” to any model of public interest decision-making. While there are many areas in which the ‘public interest’ is a relevant consideration, the focus will be on the public interest in health research access to patient identifiable data and the discussion will be informed and provoked by the results of empirical work on public attitudes towards research use of patient data. Those responsible for advising and making decisions in this field will offer their own perspective and understanding of ‘the public interest’ and reflect upon any connection between their practical experience and the theoretical models of decision-making discussed. The event marks the end of a mid-career British Academy Fellowship for Taylor addressing these issues and is sponsored by the Sheffield Institute for Biotechnology Law and Ethics (SIBLE).

Download the programme here

Register your interest

If you have an interest in the issues to be discussed, then please register to attend and to receive a draft journal article, further explaining the background thinking, as soon as they are available. Attendance is free of charge, and lunch will be provided, but numbers are limited and registration is required

Register your interest here

Contact us

For further information about the event, then please contact either Sarah Beedham (law-research@sheffield.ac.uk) or Mark Taylor (m.j.taylor@sheffield.ac.uk)