Gdpr at the doctor's reception

[MsGreying]

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/community-leader-overhears-patients-private-10779277.amp

I dislike giving personal information in public. I think this news article highlights concerns.

Giving date of birth out and address at the doctor's or chemist feels really wrong when the place is busy.

Exactly. Today's words spoken in the pharmacy while picking up DP's prescription were ' hi, we pay for this' as I handed over the paper, and they keep paid for in a separate box so it's quicker for them to find if you specify, and 'thanks' when I paid and he handed it over.

Last GP appointment I checked in on the touchscreen, and didn't say a word to anyone outside the consultation room, as they announce which room you should go to and show your name briefly on a screen. No other data shared publicly. Two different places, two good systems.

It damn well is when the birth family who are a risk to the child are stood next to you!

So have it written in your notes ready for whenever you need to share it in such a scenario. If that’s THAT important for you not to say it aloud then you can find this is a really easy solution! Help yourself instead of expecting the world to bow to your niche issue.

There is no need for anyone to have to call out their address in public. It isn’t niche. There are many reasons why some people need to keep it private.

Yes, if we know someone will be expecting us to call out our name and address, we can prepare a strategy. If. But why should we need to, when other people have come up with far better systems that don’t need it.

Presumably anyone standing nearby would also have heard her asking the pharmacist for it? 🤷🏻‍♀️

@PrizedPickledPopcorn And thst happens every day of the week to all of us? You need to find another way, but the rest of us don’t. You probably need another GP.

Totally. “Gross breach” what a drama llama

Quite interesting to consider that in America this is strictly not allowed. The regulations in America are HIPAA if anyone wants to look it up. Different system of course but the way things are going in the UK, could be useful to know.

No, she went into that private little room with a door to discuss what she needed. No one knew what she was waiting for.

It's definitely not right in cases of adoption. I had a little girl in a class that I taught, and she and her brother- both with incredibly distinctive first names- were adopted, admittedly in another council, but not a million miles away from where they were born. I always wonder if they managed to stay under the radar, away from their birth family, for their own safety, as it wasn't recommended that their first names were changed after the adoption. They will now be in late primary/early secondary school, and I do hope that the adoption went well for both of them. The little girl was lovely!

The only thing that I do object to is disclosing why I would like an appointment, because I grew up in a village where everybody knew your business and your family, so attempting to maintain any form of privacy required a lot of effort!

I think this is a really important thing that the public have seemingly accepted for a long time, probably because they feel there's nothing they can do about it. Being expected to say your address in the chemist is absolutely ridiculous tbh. I just write it on my notes app and show it to the assistant. I don't want anyone in earshot to know exactly where I live when I'm off home carrying a bag of drugs.

As others have highlighted it's unrelated to GDPR as it's you yourself giving out your personal info publicly.

I'm always surprised chemists don't ask patients for ID to collect medication, unless it's a CD.