The Data Use and Access Bill has formally entered into law, in a move the government hopes will cut NHS bureaucracy and accelerate innovation in science and tech.
Sonia Patel, chief technology officer at NHSE, posted on LinkedIn that the Royal Assent of the bill marked “an important day after several incarnations over three years”, pointing to the value of its section on health and care technology standards such as interoperability. “Now the real work starts on implementation of the ‘One Digital Rule’ to enable working as one across the NHS and care sector with Industry to support better care for our country,” she added.
The bill states the intent for interoperability, for real-time access to health information such as pre-existing conditions, appointments, and tests, across different care settings “no matter what IT system they are using”. The government estimates that enabling data sharing across platforms will save NHS staff 140,000 hours per year in admin.
Wes Streeting, secretary of state for health and social care, called the passing of the bill “a game-changing moment for UK healthcare”, noting: “We’re making it easier for GPs, nurses, and paramedics to access the information they need, when they need it, safely, securely and at speed. Only by challenging the status quo and cutting through red tape can we truly deliver our Plan for Change and an NHS Fit for the Future.”
The government has also published guidance reflecting changes made to GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, highlighting improved clarity around the use of personal data for scientific research, along with measures allowing researchers to “rely on broad consent”.
Health data from across the health and care system
For HTN Now we held a webinar on the topic of harnessing data for total triage in primary care with an expert panel, including Ananya Datta, associate director of primary care digital delivery at South East London ICB; Asad Ashraf, GP and digital clinical lead at North East London ICB; and Devin Gray, GP and clinical lead for digital transformation at Wandsworth GP Federation. Panellists shared details on current uses of data for total triage, discussing key successes, challenges, learnings, and best practice.
A large-scale public engagement report commissioned by NHSE on building and maintaining public trust in data use across health and care has been published, focusing on the approach to creating a single patient record and the secondary use of GP data. It noted “relief” and “enthusiasm” from participants around not having to repeat their health history when interacting with different parts of the health and care system, and highlighted concerns about data accuracy, privacy, and security.
A review commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care into six organisations overseeing the safety of care has been completed, with Dr Penny Dash publishing ten main findings and a total of nine recommendations. Headline findings include that despite a shift toward safety and “considerable resources deployed”, relatively small improvements have been seen; that tech, data and analytics should play a “far more significant role” in supporting quality of care; and that insufficient use is currently being made of NHS data resources.
