What about consent?

During the Covid 19 pandemic the need for explicit consent for sharing the KIS between GPs and other health professionals involved directly with patient care was removed to ensure more efficient data sharing and improve patient care. This change was confirmed as permanent in October 2023, bringing KIS in line with (UK)GDPR introduced 2018. Information can be shared within the NHS provided it facilitates the direct care of the patient concerned.

Prior to enabling KIS data sharing, clinicians should still consider whether information sharing is appropriate in each case. In some cases, the clinician may decide that individual pieces of information should not be shared as they are irrelevant to the care of the patient. In the GP clinical system, it is possible to individually remove data items from a KIS record prior to sharing.

Note that at time of revision (October 2025) the GP clinical systems have yet to be amended to account for the new arrangements for sharing, which no longer involve patient consent.

Useful information:

The National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978: The Emergency Care and Key Information Summary (Scotland) Directions 2023
Key Information Summary (KIS) – Letter of clarification – protected data