Image source: istock.com/Blue Planet Studio

图片来源：iStock.com/Blue Planet Studio

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published new guidance for health and social care organisations for transparency on their use of personal information.

信息专员办公室（ICO）发布了新的健康和社会护理组织个人信息使用透明度指南。

It said this is intended to provide regulatory certainty on how the organisations should keep people properly informed by helping them to understand the definition of and assess appropriate levels of transparency. It also provides practical steps to developing effective transparency information.

它表示，此举旨在通过帮助人们理解透明度的定义和评估适当的透明度水平，为监管机构如何让人们正确了解情况提供确定性。它还为开发有效的透明度信息提供了实际步骤。

Under data protection law, people have a right to know what is happening to their personal information, which is particularly important when accessing vital services.

根据数据保护法，人们有权知道个人信息发生了什么变化，这在访问重要服务时尤为重要。

The guidance includes key considerations such as the necessity and proportionality of using any personal information and the need for data protection by decision, with safeguards to protect information.

该指南包括关键考虑因素，例如使用任何个人信息的必要性和相称性，以及通过决策保护数据的必要性，以及保护信息的保障措施。

It also focuses on how to develop transparency information, how to provide it, and steps for self-assessment. These include a checklist of considerations on issues including potential harms, determining what information is most important to people, and allocating responsibility for delivering transparency where it is most effective..

它还侧重于如何开发透明度信息、如何提供信息以及自我评估的步骤。其中包括对潜在危害等问题的考虑清单，确定哪些信息对人们最重要，以及在最有效的地方分配透明度的责任。。

Essential for trust

对信任至关重要

Anne Russell, head of regulatory policy projects at the ICO, said: “Being transparent is essential to building public trust in health and social care services. If people clearly understand how and why their personal information is being used, they are likely to feel empowered to share their health information to both access care and support initiatives such as medical research.  .

ICO监管政策项目负责人安妮·拉塞尔（Anne Russell）表示：“透明对于建立公众对健康和社会护理服务的信任至关重要。如果人们清楚地了解个人信息的使用方式和原因，他们可能会感到有权分享健康信息，以获取护理和支持医疗研究等举措。”。

“As new technologies are developed and deployed in the health sector, our personal information is becoming more important than ever to boost the efficiency and public benefit of these systems. With this bespoke guidance, we want to support health and social care organisations by improving their understanding of effective transparency, ensuring that they are clear, open and honest with everyone whose personal information is being used.” .

“随着新技术在卫生部门的开发和部署，我们的个人信息对于提高这些系统的效率和公共利益变得比以往任何时候都重要。通过这一定制的指导，我们希望通过提高卫生和社会护理组织对有效透明度的理解，确保他们对使用个人信息的每个人都清晰、公开和诚实。”。

The ICO said the guidance incorporates feedback from health and social care organisations in a public consultation earlier this year. It supplements existing guidance on the principle of transparency and the right to be informed.

ICO表示，该指南在今年早些时候的一次公众咨询中纳入了卫生和社会护理组织的反馈意见。它补充了关于透明度和知情权原则的现有指导。