Research
Government announces GP data from volunteers to be shared for research
We’ve welcomed an announcement from Government that gives approved research studies access to anonymised GP data for people who have consented to take part.
The data provision notice issued by Government transfers responsibility and legal liability for these data to NHS England, removing the burden on GP practices having to share each participants’ data on an individual basis. People not participating in the approved projects will not have their data shared.
We have been funding and supporting two of the projects set to benefit, UK Biobank and Our Future Health, for many years.
"Turbocharge research"
Commenting on the announcement, our Chief Scientific and Medical Officer Professor Bryan Williams, said: “Using anonymised routinely collected healthcare data for research in a careful and controlled way has huge power to turbocharge research, improving our understanding of disease, developing more effective treatments, and transforming patient outcomes."
“Importantly, the GP records being made securely available for research are those of people who have explicitly consented to share their health data. These include the millions of generous volunteers who have signed up to large-scale studies like UK Biobank and Our Future Health, which the British Heart Foundation is proud to support, and which will tackle the UK’s biggest killers, including cardiovascular disease.”