You may have heard about this subject in the media recently.

Essentially, NHS Digital have released a Transparency Notice which gives more details on how the NHS may use your data, saved within GP practices, to aid with healthcare planning and research. You do have the option to opt-out if you so wish.

For full details please visit the NHS Digital Website.

If you have any further queries regarding this please contact NHS Digital by clicking here.

How To Opt-Out

There are 2 methods of opting out.

1. National Data Opt-Out: NHS Digital will collect data from your GP medical record to use for planning and research, but will not share your data with external organisations. To complete this opt-out please click here.

2. Type 1 Opt-Out: NHS Digital will not collect data from your GP medical record. In order to opt-out you will need to complete this form, and then return it to the surgery, preferably via e-mail, before 1st September 2021.

According to the NHS Digital website:

“Patient data will be collected from 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 the data collection started, and was previously registered at a GP practice in England when the data collection started

We will not collect your name or where you live. Any other data that could directly identify you, for example 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.

This process is called pseudonymisation and means that no one will be able to directly identify you in the data. The diagram below helps to explain what this means. Using the terms in the diagram, the data we collect would be described as de-personalised.

NHS Digital will be able to use the same software to convert the unique codes back to data that could directly identify you in certain circumstances, and where there is a valid legal reason. Only NHS Digital has the ability to do this. This would mean that the data became personally identifiable data in the diagram above. An example would be where you consent to your identifiable data being shared with a research project or clinical trial in which you are participating, as they need to know the data is about you.”