1. Research benefits of NHS IT Programmes

2. 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:
A copy of the Report of the simulations can be downloaded at:
Or contact the UKCRC secretariat at phone +44 (0)