June 10, 2021

the General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR) – is it a good idea?

On Tuesday Jo Churchill announced that the launch of the General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR), a new central NHS digital database from GP records in England, will be delayed for 2 months to the 1^st September 2021.

The benefits of access to accurate, timely health data have never been as clear as during the pandemic where the rapid linking of multiple datasets at a national level has enabled lifesaving research, such as the discovery of treatments for COVID-19 through the RECOVERY trial. But this move is not without some tensions and controversies. More wide-ranging uses of health data must be accompanied by transparency, good governance and public involvement.

Journalists dialled in to this briefing to hear experts discuss these benefits and tensions in relation to the GPDPR and what they would like to see happen in the extra 2 months before the launch.

Speakers included:

Prof Cathie Sudlow, Director, BHF Data Science Centre, Health Data Research UK

Dr Natalie Banner, Lead for Understanding Patient Data

Prof Sir Rory Collins, Principal Investigator and Chief Executive, UK Biobank

Prof Martin Landray, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, and Co-lead of the RECOVERY trial

Prof Kamlesh Khunti, Professor of Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine, University of Leicester