Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Data Set Version 2.0: Consultation: We asked, you said, we did

We asked for feedback on our proposals for the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Data Set Version 2.0, particularly with regard to the alignment with the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) and the increased use of clinical terminology within the data set.

You said

Feedback was received from a range of interested stakeholders which the Data Set Development Service (DSDS) have considered and will be taking into account throughout the work to take the proposal forward. The responses generally supported the draft technical solutions and timescales proposed. Based on the feedback received, we have made a small number of minor amendments to the Data Set Specification and taken action to update our IAPT v2.0 User Guidance in accordance with the feedback received. Notable changes are as follows:

You said: Providers requested guidance for submitting data using clinical terminology.

We did: Extensive guidance has been added to the IAPT v2.0 User Guidance document with regard to submitting data using SNOMED CT. A document entitled IAPT v2.0 SNOMED CT Mapping will also be published which provides mapping guidance to enable existing data items to be flowed using SNOMED CT where required. Both documents can be found on the IAPT web pages.

You said: Providers indicated that the use of any outcome measures would require guidance to ensure that providers are using outcome measures as expected.

We did: The list of Routine Outcome Measures has been amended for IAPT v2.0, with some deletions as well as additions. We have been working with IAPT programme to provide SNOMED mapping guidance and policy guidance for where these outcome measures are expected to be used and how they should be mapped to the data set.

You said: We received feedback regarding the removal of some of the existing v1.5 data items that were useful to some providers locally.

We did: We have reinforced the message that the data set is for secondary uses only and providers are still able to collect what data they wish locally, for local use. Removal of these items from the data set is because they no longer serve a purpose in national reports and does not indicate services should stop collecting these locally.

You said: Providers highlighted a number of factors which may lead to difficulties for submitting Care Personnel Qualification data, including the burden of setting up and maintaining this information and the challenge where this data is stored on a separate system.

We did: Comprehensive guidance has been added to the IAPT v2.0 User Guidance document with regard to submitting to the Care Personnel Qualification table. The additional burden of submitting this information is acknowledged. Services should already be maintaining this information locally and the burden of data submission is deemed proportionate for the benefits of national uses of this information, such as workforce planning.

You said: There was some misunderstanding about that modular data design and additional data tables with some services assuming that all new data MUST be now be captured by clinical staff, which caused concern relating to burden and inappropriateness

We did: We have reinforced the message that data set is for secondary uses only and providers should only return data in the data set that is already captured locally, for primary uses. Therefore, if a table is not mandatory, it may be left blank if the correlating data is not collected locally. The reinforced guidance can be found in section4.1 – Key points relating to mandatory fields and validations of the IAPT v2.0 User Guidance.

You said: Providers asked how we intended on accommodating the breadth of diversity in the way people identify to services within the data set. We did: Although the IAPT team are not responsible for the diversity of gender and sexual orientation codes that can be recorded to the data set, this feedback was passed on through appropriate governance routes, including to NHS England, by way of our submission to the Data Coordination Board. Read the full summary IAPT v2.0 Public Consultation Summary Report which contains a breakdown of the response results.