From: Dominic Carter
Topic: Sharing NHS patients’ data

The benefits in securely sharing patient information for the NHS, the life sciences industry and in turn patients are well founded; the key is in enabling this whilst ensuring that patient confidentiality is maintained. The numerous recent cases of data being lost or leaked from the public or private sector are well documented.

However, that is not to say that such eventualities cannot be guarded against. Fortunately, ‘pseudonymisation’ technology tools now exist to ensure that fundamental requirements when it comes to data are upheld. It can cost many billions of pounds to bring a new drug to market, much of which is spent on clinical trials.

This truly is a win/win opportunity for all concerned. The NHS has an asset from which it could potentially derive a significant income, the life sciences industry could in turn reduce its costs whilst speeding up the time it takes to bring drugs to market and most importantly patients could benefit by faster access to treatments.

However, this must all be underpinned by a sensitive and responsible attitude to data protection.