NHS data

As the use of data increases, it is important we continue to handle patient data safely and ethically. To achieve this, the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS in England are moving from processes that rely on data being shared, to a system where data is accessed. This is being done using online platforms known as Secure Data Environments, which are designed to give NHS data more protection.

The NHS has recorded data about every interaction with each patient and service user since 1948, much of it now in digital form. The NHS keeps our health and social care records safe to ensure we get the care we need.

These health records can also be very useful for analysts and researchers to look at trends and patterns across the whole population. To do this, individual level information is combined to form large sets of data. This looks very different to a person’s medical record. The combination of all this different information is what we call 'NHS data'.

NHS data can be used to answer a huge variety of problems. These range from problems that affect the whole population, to those that impact small groups of people with rare conditions. Because of the diversity of the UK population, NHS data has enormous value.

Examples of people that use NHS data:

• NHS analysts - to check the quality of existing services and identify potential improvements
• medical researchers - to gain a deeper understanding of diseases and identify new life saving medicines and treatments