General Practice Data for Planning and Research
General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR) is an NHS Digital programme that plans to collect data from the GP records of all patients in England to help support research and healthcare planning. Data sharing with NHS Digital will start on 1 September 2021.
The data held in your GP medical records is shared with other healthcare professionals for the purposes of your individual care. It is also shared with other organisations to;
- plan and improve vital health and care services
- research and develop cures for serious illnesses
The data collected will not include patients’ names and addresses and NHS Digital says that any other data that could directly identify patients will be psuedonymised.
For more information about this see the GP Practice Privacy Notice for General Practice Data for Planning and Research.
Also watch this short animation to understand more about how your data will be used, or this more detailed video which provides a great overview.
Type 1 opt out – patient data held by your GP practice
You can choose whether your confidential patient information is used for research and planning. To find out more visit NHS Digital
You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your confidential patient information is used. You can change your choice at any time.
If you do not want your patient data to be shared outside of the GP practice for purposes except your own care, you can register an opt-out with Elmwood, known as a Type 1 Opt-out. If you have already registered a Type 1 Opt-out previously with your GP practice your data will not be shared with NHS Digital.
Click HERE to access the Type 1 Opt out form and return to the practice.
You can use this form to:
- register a Type 1 Opt-out, for yourself or for a dependent (if you are the parent or legal guardian of the patient) (to Opt-out)
- withdraw an existing Type 1 Opt-out, for yourself or a dependent (if you are the parent or legal guardian of the patient) if you have changed your preference (Opt-in)
National Data Opt-out – data held by NHS Digital
A national data opt out applies to identifiable patient data about your health (personally identifiable data in the diagram above), which is called confidential patient information. If you don’t want your confidential patient information to be shared by NHS Digital with other organisations for purposes except your own care – either GP data, or other data it holds, such as hospital data – you can register a National Data Opt-out.
Click HERE to submit your choice online, or by clicking on ‘Your Health’ in the NHS App, and selecting ‘Choose if data from your health records is shared for research and planning’.
You can also make or change a choice by downloading and completing a form and emailing or posting it to the National Data Opt Out Contact Centre (unfortunately your GP practice cannot process a National Data Opt-out). The form and contact details can be found here, under section ‘Other ways to make a choice‘.