UK researchers told to maintain confidentiality

Researchers in the United Kingdom whose work is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) must ensure that they maintain confidentiality of personal information of any sort that has been provided for health care or obtained in medical research.

They must also try to ensure they have obtained explicit consent from each person included in research to obtain, hold, and use personal information. The recommendations were made in new guidelines, Personal Information in Medical Research, published by the MRC last week.

The MRC, a national organisation funded by taxpayers that supports medical research aimed at …