care.data – What is care.data? The NHS is changing and services are being restructured. These reforms will impact on the way that clinical data are collected, shared and analysed. Under the powers of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (HSCA), the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) can, under certain circumstances, require Personal Confidential Data (PCD) from GP Practices without seeking patient consent.

One of the first initiatives using these new powers is the Care.Data service. This service has been commissioned by NHS England and will be delivered by the HSCIC. The HSCIC is England’s central authoritative source of health and social care information.

 In general, such data will only be made available to accredited third parties in anonymised, pseudonymised or aggregated form.  The default position for all patients is that PCD will leave the practice where there is a legal basis.

 Patients CAN object to this it is important that your wishes are respected. If you object to your data being extracted you should let us know in writing so that we can update your records. Further information is available at www.england.nhs.uk/caredata  Click on the patient button for details.