What is health data?
Every time you receive care from the NHS, information about your health and the care you receive is recorded. This is known as health and care data.
It can include things like:
This information helps your NHS teams provide your care. But it can also help us learn more about health and disease, understand what treatments work, improve services and find new ways to prevent and treat illness.
Why is health data important?
Sometimes, one person’s health record can’t answer the bigger questions.
By looking at information from many people over time, researchers can spot patterns, understand what works and learn more about how health and care can be improved.
In simple terms, your data can help us learn not just about your care, but about how we can make care better for everyone.
What is your data used for?
Your health and care data may be used for approved research, evaluation and service improvement.
iCARE operates the Imperial Secure Data Environment, where approved researchers can securely access and analyse health and care data.
The iCARE team looks after the data and the systems that make this possible. This includes bringing datasets together, keeping them up to date and well managed, managing access and approvals, and preparing data so it can be used safely and effectively for approved research.
iCARE also carries out research and innovation and works with researchers and partners to support health and care research.
The aim is simple: to learn from the data we already have and use those insights to help improve health, treatments and care.
Can I be identified from my data?
We take protecting your identity seriously.
When health and care data is used for research, we use measures such as anonymisation to reduce the risk of you being identified. This means information that could directly identify you is removed or transformed before data is made available for approved research.
There are also strict controls around who can access the data, what they can use it for and what information can leave the secure environment.
How do we keep your data safe?
Your health and care data is sensitive, so keeping it safe is a priority.
We use technical, organisational and governance measures to protect it. Access is restricted to authorised users and approved projects, with checks and controls in place to make sure data is used appropriately.
Researchers do not routinely receive copies of the underlying data to download and use elsewhere. Instead, they work with the data within the secure environment.
Learn more about our governance processes here.