NHS Digital's daily collection of GP data will support vital health and care planning and research.
The data held in the GP medical records of patients is used every day to support health and care planning and research in England, helping to find better treatments and improve patient outcomes for everyone. NHS Digital has developed a new way to collect this data, called the General Practice Data for Planning and Research data collection.
The new data collection reduces burden on GP practices, allowing doctors and other staff to focus on patient care.
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What the Patient data will be used for
Patient data collected from general practice is needed to support a wide variety of research and analysis to help run and improve health and care services. Whilst the data collected in other care settings such as hospitals is valuable in understanding and improving specific services, it is the patient data in general practice that helps NHS to understand whether the health and care system as a whole is working for patients.
General Practice Data for Planning and Research: NHS Digital Transparency Notice - NHS Digital
- Research the long-term impact of coronavirus on the population
- Analyse healthcare inequalities
- Research and develop cures for serious illnesses
Opting out
If you don’t want your identifiable patient data to be shared for purposes except for your own care, you can opt-out by registering a Type 1 Opt-out or a National Data Opt-out, or both. These opt-outs are different and they are explained in more detail below. Your individual care will not be affected if you opt-out using either option.
General Practice Data for Planning and Research: NHS Digital Transparency Notice - NHS Digital
Type 1 Opt-out (opting out of NHS Digital collecting your data)
NHS digital will not collect data from GP practices about patients who have registered a Type 1 Opt-out with their practice.
If you wish to register a Type 1 Opt-out with your GP practice before data sharing starts with NHS Digital, this should be done by returning this form to your GP practice (in Person through the letter box) by 23 August 2021 to allow time for processing it. If you have previously registered a Type 1 Opt-out and you would like to withdraw this, you can also use the form to do this. You can enquire at reception or call 0300 3035678 for a form to be sent out to you.
This collection will start on 1st September 2021, it was originally 1 July 2021 but due to public concern it has been pushed back to no earlier than the 1st September. So if you do not want your data to be shared with NHS Digital please register your Type 1 Opt-out with the surgery by 23 August 2021 (to allow for processing).
National Data Opt-out (opting out of NHS Digital sharing your data)
NHS Digital won’t share any confidential patient information about you - this includes GP data, or other data we hold, such as hospital data - with other organisations, unless there is an exemption to this.
If you do not want NHS Digital to share your identifiable patient data with anyone else for purposes beyond your own care, then you can also register a National Data Opt-out.
To opt out from the national data extraction by the NHS Digital, Please follow https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/manage-your-choice/ or use the NHS app.