Supporting the greater use of data sharing across healthcare

Access to well curated and trusted health data is a vital resource for the Life Science industry to develop innovations that can save lives, manage the burden of disease and support the efficient use of health resources. That report highlight that the Life Science industry had a sizeable role to play in realising the value of the data and the ‘creation of wider economic benefits to the UK’. It is therefore crucial that data sharing with commercial entities is streamlined, and there are a number of elements that can support this including governance, infrastructure and culture. Governance of NHS data sits within the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the common law duty of confidentiality and, when used within Digital Health Technologies, the regulation of medical devices. For commercial organisations this is most visible in the local governance rules on data sharing from NHS Trusts, Integrated Care Systems or Health Boards. This could be enabled by the Centre for Improving Data Collaboration, supporting data sharing partnerships between NHS Trust and commercial entities, and ensuring conditions and fees for data use are non-discriminatory, proportionate, objectively justified and do not restrict competition. Specifically in health there are issues in the quality, completeness, interoperability and accessibility of national data and the Life Sciences industry has identified a number of systemic barriers that limit access to data.