The Department of Health is about to
end a consultation on increasing its use of
patient data.
The department launched the consultation to look at ways the NHS
can use information it collects about patients.
It is looking at using data for research, auditing the quality
and safety of care, or management planning.
The data used will sometimes be anonymous, but the Department of
Health said, "Sometimes it is useless unless it identifies
individual patients."
The consultation finishes tomorrow (12 December) and the
department will consider whether or not to increase the ways it
uses data.
