Coded general practice data about patients in England will soon be able to be shared with approved research groups, the government has announced.
Researchers have called it a “momentous step” that will drive forward research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of diseases that are often managed in primary care, such as diabetes, dementia, and depression.
Anonymised GP data could be shared with “consented cohorts” such as UK Biobank, Genomics England, and Our Future Health, said the health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting.1 If a patient consented to the data in their GP records being shared with such studies, then NHS England would take responsibility for making this happen, rather than GPs. A previous stumbling block has been that the BMA was opposed to handing over primary care data because of fears that a GP would be held responsible, regardless of whether the patient consented.2
On 4 October Streeting told the Royal College of General Practitioners conference in Liverpool, “World leading studies like the UK Biobank, Genomics England, and Our Future Health are building up incredibly detailed profiles of our nation’s health. Patients have given their consent for their …
