BMJ  2004;328:1437 (12 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7453.1437

Letter

Data protection, informed consent, and research

Data Protection Act does not bar medical research

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—The Data Protection Act 1998 does not prohibit the processing of personal information for medical research purposes. Indeed, it is clear from section 33 of the act that such processing is expressly permitted. If it were otherwise, then the act would be in direct conflict with the core aims of the laws that underpin it—namely, the Council of Europe Convention of 1981 and the European Union Directive of 1995. These laws seek to facilitate data processing activities, primarily "free flows" of information, rather than suppress data processing.

The problems to which Peto et al refer in their editorial on data protection, informed consent, and research are not Data Protection Act problems but, rather, problems caused by ignorance and misunderstanding.¹ With basic training on the key mechanisms of the act the problems of which the authors complain can be easily overcome. Training need not be an expensive task either. . . . [Full text of this article]

Data Protection For Business, c/o Rowe Cohen Solicitors, London EC4M 7AA s.room@dataprotectionforbusiness.co.uk

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