More than 1.2 million people opted out of NHS GP data-sharing in just one month, following a number of privacy concerns raised by campaign groups and openDemocracy.
Under the proposed scheme, launched in May and officially called the General Practice Data for Planning and Research service, anyone registered with a GP in England could have potentially had their personal health data shared with private companies.
NHS Digital introduced the proposal with little publicity, giving GP patients a short, six-week window to opt out by 1 July. After a public outcry and legal threats from a coalition of civil society organisations, this deadline was initially extended to 1 September, and the scheme has now been put on hold indefinitely, according to a report in The Observer.
