Research benefits of NHS IT Programmes

Research benefits of NHS IT Programmes Presentation notes: The NHS means that the UK should be in a position to take a global lead on benefiting health through use of the IT systems that underpin healthcare management . However it is crucial that the use of IT systems is careful and appropriately governed and protects the rights and dignity of patients UK-wide approach: The approach to NHS IT systems varies across the UK and the work on maximising their use for research is at different stages of development. Connecting for Health: With a population of over 50 million in England, the developing NHS IT programme in England, NHS Connecting for Health, offers a clear opportunity to maximise this potential for health-related research. UKCRC R&D Advisory Group to Connecting for Health established by Department of Health R&D and NHS Connecting for Health to ensure that research is a priority for ongoing NHS Care Records Service development. The first step towards this goal was work to provide supporting evidence – paper-based research simulations in: Observational epidemiology - based on retrospective analyses of data using case-control and cohort study design Interventional clinical trials- including feasibility assessment, identification and recruitment of patients and remote electronic data capture Surveillance - including improved pharmacovigilance, post-marketing assessments, drug interaction and utilisation studies Prospective tracking of a known cohort of patients to flag up specified interventions or health Outcomes (UK Biobank) Simulations identified and anticipated a number of developments needed within the NHS Care Records system to support their research applications Six main recommendations: Mandate a common patient identifier Communicate the relevance of research to healthcare Federate existing databases Improve data quality Initiate governance discussions Engage key stakeholders Further information: Please see the UKCRC web pages on NHS IT Programmes: http://www.ukcrc.org/activities/infrastructureinthenhs/nhsitprogrammes.aspx A copy of the Report of the simulations can be downloaded at: http://www.ukcrc.org/activities/infrastructureinthenhs/nhsitprogrammes/advisorygroup/researchsimulations.aspx Or contact the UKCRC secretariat at info@ukcrc.org, phone +44 (0)20 7670 5452.