NHS Digital has lofty ambitions when it comes to its data sharing roadmap

NHS Digital's latest data sharing initiative hinges on standardising the data that is collected from patients, as well as vastly raising the level of detail in this data. Its vision, according to consultation papers, is to clean up the data that is collected, and open this up to commissioners, researchers, and public health planners. 

Clinicians and others will be expected to collect "granular" levels of data about their patients using the SNOMED CT standard, and link this with other NHS data to support direct care. This process comprises the first phase of the journey.

This SNOMED CT standard is a worldwide process for recording highly detailed clinical information about a patient that would allow data to be shared across the health and social care landscape. It was rolled out in a phased approach in primary care units from last year, with secondary care units expected to use the system by 1 April 2020. This would also pave the way for advanced analytics to improve the quality of healthcare outcomes.

Phases two and three, meanwhile, will involve first improving the insights that can be extracted from SNOMED CT coded patient data, and secondly to establish the workflows that can channel this data into a format accessible by external parties such as researchers.

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