General Practice Data for Planning and Collection
The NHS needs data about the patients it treats in order to plan and deliver its services and to ensure that care and treatment provided is safe and effective. The General Practice Data for Planning and Research data collection will help the NHS to improve health and care services for everyone by collecting patient data that can be used to do this. For example patient data can help the NHS to:
- monitor the long-term safety and effectiveness of care
- plan how to deliver better health and care services
- prevent the spread of infectious diseases
- identify new treatments and medicines through health research
GP practices already share patient data for these purposes, but this new data collection will be more efficient and effective.
We have agreed to share the patient data we look after in our practice with NHS Digital who will securely store, analyse, publish and share this patient data to improve health and care services for everyone. This includes:
- informing and developing health and social care policy
- planning and commissioning health and care services
- taking steps to protect public health (including managing and monitoring the coronavirus pandemic)
- in exceptional circumstances, providing you with individual care
- enabling healthcare and scientific research
This means that we can get on with looking after our patients and NHS Digital can provide controlled access to patient data to the NHS and other organisations that need to use it to improve health and care for everyone.
Contributing to research projects will benefit us all as better and safer treatments are introduced more quickly and effectively without compromising your privacy and confidentiality.
This data will be shared from 1 July 2021. Data may be shared from the GP medical records about:
- any living patient registered at a GP practice in England when the collection started - this includes children and adults
- any patient who died after this data sharing started, and was previously registered at a GP practice in England when the data collection started
We will not share your name or where you live. Any other data that could directly identify you, for example your NHS number, General Practice Local Patient Number, full postcode and date of birth, is replaced with unique codes which are produced by de-identification software before the data is shared with NHS Digital.
We will share:
- data on sex, ethnicity and sexual orientation
- clinical codes and data about diagnoses, symptoms, observations, test results, medications, allergies, immunisations, referrals, recalls and appointments, including information about your physical, mental and sexual health
- data about staff who have treated you
What is not shared:
- your name and address (except your postcode in unique coded form)
- written notes (free text), such as the details of conversations with doctors and nurses
- images, letters and documents
- coded data that is not needed due to its age - for example medication, referral and appointment data that is over 10 years old
- coded data that we are not permitted to share by law - for example certain codes about IVF treatment, and certain information about gender reassignment
If you do not wish for any of your data to be shared, there are two options available to opt out:
Type 1 Opt-Out – This will notify your GP surgery (Coleridge Medical Centre) that you do not wish to have your identifiable patient data shared outside of the practice for purposes except your own care. This is done by completing a form, and returning it to your surgery before 23 June 2021.
This form can be downloaded by clicking HERE and resubmitted to the practice either by email, or by dropping it in at the reception desk.
Type 2 Opt-Out - If you don’t want your confidential patient information to be shared by NHS Digital with other organisations for purposes except your own care - either GP data, or other data it holds, such as hospital data - you can register to opt-out online by following the below link: