Pulse in the Press: ‘State snooping’ over sick notes

A Pulse story looking into how GPs have been told to inform patients of 'state snooping' was covered in The Times,  The Telegraph, Express and Daily Mail. Details around practices' issuing of Med3 statements for patients are to be extracted by the Government in a move described by GP leaders as amounting to 'state snooping'. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will extract information from GP records, including the number of Med3s or so-called 'fit notes' issued by each practice and the number of patients recorded as 'unfit' or 'maybe fit' for work. As part of the programme beginning next month, GPs will have to inform patients of the extraction, but cannot withhold information unless their patient explicitly objects. These data will be published anonymously at CCG level, but DWP officials will have access to practice-level data - which they will not be able to pass on to other bodies. GP experts criticised the decision to obtain practice-level rather than CCG-level data, and warned it could be used to create 'league tables' for practices and have a knock-on effect for other extraction programmes. The 'fit notes' scheme allows GPs to refer patients who are in employment, but off sick to an occupational health service. Read the full story here.   Story covered by: The Times: Doctors warn of 'state snooping' on patients' sick-notes The Telegraph: DWP will be told which GPs dole out the most sicknotes Express: Doctors' outrage at sick note 'snooping' Daily Mail: 'State snooping' fears as civil servants are handed new power to examine detail in every sick note given out by GPs