ABSTRACT
Everyone recognised right from the start that the security of the National Care Record was going to be a very big issue. There are considerable concerns about access control and confidentiality which will have to be overcome before any electronic record can even be considered. The national (and indeed international) focus on the 'Biggest Computer Programme in the World Ever' has meant that these concerns can no longer simply be flagged as 'issues which must be addressed'. This cannot be swept under the carpet, or left for another day. Doctors have to be reassured, and a solution is essential if their fundamental concerns are not to become a major barrier to the whole success of the project. Doctors always raise this as one of their top concerns. They are right to do so.
