The Department of Health and Social Care has awarded a £1.25 million contract to Marvell Consulting Limited for a public beta “Find Public Health Data” service replacing the current end-of-life Fingertips service, a large public health data collection.
Hosted in Azure using cloud-based technologies, the service is described as “currently at early MVP stage”, needing to move to public beta and pass all relevant GDS assessment criteria. Currently, it offers data organised into themed profiles, with the ability to search for indicators, view public health profiles, and explore health trends in England.
The project will build on an existing team of user researchers, designers, product owners, and analytical specialists, the DHSC notes, with a delivery team expected to work with internal teams to develop and deliver requirements.
Deliverables include an API allowing advanced users to call data directly, R and Python packages allowing analysts to work with the data, analyst ability to upload and manage platform data and the presentation of this to users, the ability to automate data publications or updates with capabilities for redactions and full audit history, and the ability to archive versions of the data and front end, “ideally through the National Archives”. Integration of a user-friendly front door for data access, load balancing, and security, are also requirements under the contract.
The initial contract term will be 12 months, ending in March 2027, and with an optional extension period of six months.
Wider trend: Health data
University Hospitals of Liverpool Group is seeking feedback on its five-year strategy developed using population health data – “a once in a generation opportunity to make bold changes and transform patient care for the future”.As well as focuses on partnerships, research and innovation, and attracting and retaining “the brightest and best people” to drive care, the strategy sets out a series of plans for digital and data. The cornerstone of these plans will be the procurement of a single EPR, the group states, along with the development of a shared digital infrastructure with simplified digital systems and reduced logins.
Microsoft has launched Copilot Health, said to provide users the ability to bring together data from across their health records, wearables, and lab results, applying intelligence to turn insights into “a coherent story”. Copilot Health is positioned to support people understand the information they have, part of a “secure space within Copilot where medical intelligence makes sense of your information and delivers personalised health insights that you can act on”. With Copilot Health, users will be able to record activity levels, sleep patterns, vital signs, visit summaries, medication lists, and test results from more than 50 wearable devices and health records from over 50,000 US hospitals and health providers. AI is then used to identify patterns in health data, reportedly surfacing proactive and actionable insights.
In a strategic case for the merger of Cambridgeshire Community Services (CCS) and Norfolk Community Health and Care (NCHC) trusts plans for digital and data integration and the anticipated benefits of combined digital capabilities, have been outlined. “The success of the proposed merger and delivery of the expected benefits depends in large measure on getting digital and data integration right,” the boards consider.
