General Practice Data for Planning & Research
Dear Patient,
We have been asked to share the following important information with you.
This practice is supporting vital health and care planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital. For more information about this see the GP Practice Privacy Notice for General Practice Data for Planning and Research.
This collection will start on 1 September 2021
If you do not want your data to be shared with NHS Digital please register your Type 1 Opt-out with your GP practice by 1 September 2021.
What data is shared:
Data may be shared from the 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 1 July 2021, and was previously registered at a GP practice in England when the data collection started
NHS Digital will not collect patients’ names or addresses. Any other data that could directly identify patients (such as NHS Number, date of birth, full postcode) 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 patients will not be identified directly in the data. NHS Digital will be able to use the software to convert the unique codes back to data that could directly identify patients in certain circumstances, and where there is a valid legal reason.
If you would prefer that your identifiable patient data is only shared for your own health care purposes, you can opt-out by registering a Type 1 Opt-out or a National Data Opt-out, or both.
Your individual care will not be affected if you opt-out using either option (or both).
A Type 1 opt out has to be registered by your Practice; please let us know if you want to register a type 1 opt out. The Type 1 opt out form is available here.
A National Opt out can be done without contacting your practice, at https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/