The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 2015

[F1 Sharing of prescription and charging data E+W

18A.— (1) As regards any order for a drug or an appliance in respect of which—

(a) a charge is payable under these Regulations (whether or not it is partially remitted); or

(b) a charge would be payable under these Regulations, but for an exemption by virtue of these Regulations,

paragraph (3) applies to the data relating to that order which is described in paragraph (2) (which may be electronic data).

(2) The data relating to that order described in this paragraph is—

(a) data used for ordering the drug or appliance (which may be in the form of a prescription form), if the data, in the form in which it is used for ordering the drug or appliance, is also used for the purposes of claiming a payment by way of—

(i) reimbursement for the cost of the supply of the drug or appliance, or

(ii) remuneration for the service provided in the course of which the drug or appliance was supplied;

(b) data derived from the data used for ordering the drug or appliance (which may have been in the form of a prescription form), which is to be or has been provided to a health service body by a provider of NHS services for the purposes of claiming a payment by way of—

(i) reimbursement for the cost of the supply of the drug or appliance, or

(ii) remuneration for the service provided in the course of which the drug or appliance was supplied; and

(c) data relating to whether a charge is payable by a patient under these Regulations in respect of the order.

(3) The processing of data which relates to a patient and which is or is part of data described in paragraph (2) is—

(a) necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest;

(b) the exercise of a function conferred on a person by an enactment (whether or not it would be so but for this sub-paragraph); and

(c) if the data is personal data concerning health, necessary for the management of health care systems or services,

where the processing is by or on behalf of a relevant body or a provider of NHS services (including by another body on behalf of the relevant body or the provider of NHS services) and is for the purposes of performing, or facilitating the performance of, the functions listed in paragraph (4).

(4) Those functions are—

(a) reimbursement for the cost of the supply of that drug or appliance (taking account, as appropriate, of any charge payable under these Regulations);

(b) remuneration for providing the service in the course of which that drug or appliance was supplied (taking account, as appropriate, of any charge payable under these Regulations);

(c) ascertaining whether a charge is payable under these Regulations;

(d) providing advice, assistance and support to patients or their representatives in respect of whether a charge is payable under these Regulations;

(e) recovery of unpaid charges payable under these Regulations, and the making and recovery of penalty charges;

(f) repayment or partial repayment of amounts paid as a charge under these Regulations where no amount or only part of the amount was payable; and

(g) management functions of a relevant body relating to ensuring that the functions mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to (f) are performed effectively, efficiently and economically.

(5) A person who—

(a) is employed or engaged by a relevant body or provider of NHS services, or by a body processing data on their behalf as mentioned in paragraph (3); and

(b) in the course of being so employed or engaged is required, for the purposes mentioned in paragraph (3), to undertake the processing of data described in paragraph (2),

owes a duty of confidentiality in respect of that data (whether or not that person would do so but for this paragraph), but that duty is such that, if the processing is for the purposes mentioned in paragraph (3), that person is able, lawfully, to process that data by virtue of this regulation.

(6) Words and expressions used in both—

(a) paragraphs (3) and (5); and

(b) Parts 1 and 2 (preliminary and general processing) of, and paragraph 2(2)(f) of Schedule 1 (special categories of personal data and criminal convictions etc data) to, the Data Protection Act 2018,

bear the meanings they bear in those provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 18A inserted (26.11.2018) by The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services, Charges and Prescribing) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1114), regs. 1(1), 15