The prospect of an end to the long conflict between the BMA and the NHS in England over the ethics of electronic health records surfaced this week when a Department of Health official gave evidence to a parliamentary committee.

Gillian Braunold, clinical director of the programme to create electronic summary records, told the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee that a decision to move to a compromise model of patient consent endorsed by the BMA could be made by the end of July.

The model, known as consent to view, would end the current impasse between professional bodies and the NHS over whether patients can be presumed to have given permission for their electronic …