Book review for Subhajit Basu’s Privacy and Healthcare Data
Associate Professor Subhajit Basu’s new book, written in partnership with Leeds Informatics consultant Christina Munns, was recently reviewed by Scripted, a Journal of Law, Technology & Society.
The book addresses the question of how to balance individual privacy interests and community interests in the exploitation of healthcare data:
"In this timely, thought-provoking, and forward-looking book (the authors) argue that patients should be empowered by “the choice of control” to make information sharing choices that will benefit themselves and society.
Fundamentally, Privacy and Healthcare Data is about information sharing in the UK, and in the NHS specifically, though examples are drawn from the EU and the United States based on Munns and Basu’s more than four years of background research.
Privacy and Healthcare Data is a welcome addition to the growing literature on privacy and healthcare data. Munns’ and Basu’s solution to the theoretical and practical problems in the current context is driven by the belief “that individuals should be increasingly empowered to play a critical role in defining how their healthcare data can be collected, used, and shared across various providers”.
