NHSX chief executive Matthew Gould has called for an easier system for NHS patients to opt out of having their health data shared. 

His comments come after the proposed GP data-sharing programme was postponed indefinitely earlier this month, due to opposition from the public, campaigners, and GPs. 

Speaking at the Healthcare Excellence Through Technology (HETT) conference, Gould called the current data sharing system “overly complicated” and said NHSX was looking to “radically simplify” it.

He added that the NHS would not proceed with the GP data-sharing scheme until technology is in place to delete data already collected before a person chooses to opt out.

“I think it’s more appropriate to have a super simple, super easy system of opting out so that, if you’re not comfortable having your data used, you can easily opt out at any point,” Gould said. 

He added that NHSX and NHS England were working to allocate £250 million funding announced by the government earlier this month for tech projects to help tackle the elective backlog.

Elsewhere at the conference, Timothy Ferris, director of transformation at NHS England and Improvement, outlined his priorities in the role, which he was appointed to in March.

The new directorate will bring together NHS England and Improvement’s operational improvement team and NHSX with the aim of continuing the rapid transformation seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

It will focus on redesigning services, making full use of data and analytics and ensuring the NHS is a platform for innovation, Dr Ferris told HETT.

He added that his current priorities are recovering routine services, tackling the backlog and addressing health inequalities. 

WHY IT MATTERS

The NHS plan to share medical records from GP patients in England with third parties faced controversy when it was announced in June. Previous plans to put GP records in a central database under the Care.data programme were abandoned in 2016 after confidentiality concerns.

THE LARGER CONTEXT 

There are currently two ways to opt out of data sharing: a ‘type one opt out’ which prevents data being shared beyond a patient’s GP practice for purposes other than direct care and a ‘national opt out’ which prevents data being shared by NHS Digital for research and planning purposes.

A decision on the future of the type one opt out is expected by September next year.

ON THE RECORD

Speaking at HETT, Gould said: “Where we are at the moment is an overcomplicated overlap of too many different opt out mechanisms and we’re trying to work out how to radically simplify this.

“We are really clear, particularly as we look at GDPR, that we cannot proceed unless we’ve done a really full engagement and have got the public and clinicians with us.”

Speaking at HETT, Dr Ferris said: “Change is really difficult, but it is absolutely essential that we are addressing the challenges that the NHS is facing.”