NHS Digital seeking de-identification tech for Data Services Platform
- 7 February 2018
NHS Digital is on the lookout for a de-identification solution to help it anonymise the data it handles.
The organisation has issued a procurement notice offering a 24-month contract that will begin on 29 March.
The project is an essential component of NHS Digital’s Data Services Platform (DSP), aimed at improving the organisation’s ability to collect, provide and distribute data.
NHS Digital wants to be able to link up data from clinicians and informatics teams sand then apply analytics, the idea being that this will deliver insights that will allow it to better inform policy and planning.
The DSP project will enable NHS Digital to integrate health and social care data, again to support research and planning and provide a better picture of how care services are delivered across the NHS.
The de-identification solution would be responsible for removing identifying components in the data flowing into and out of the NHS; for example, any information that could be tied to a specific patient.
The technology will be deployed NHS-wide and must provide the capability to re-identify data where authorised. The solution will be implemented centrally and regionally.
One of the primary specifications for the de-identification project is to reduce the risk of unauthorized access to identifiable data.
The deadline for the receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 19 February 2018.
3 Comments
Block chain technology
Why not just ask for consent? If data is de-identified, with the ability to re-identify it, it isn’t de-identified, is it? Or am I missing something? Why is the NHS constantly trying to find ways to avoid adhering to the law? Do they want patients’ trust or not? Or do they just want to constantly throw money down the toilet and ignore what everybody has been shouting in their face for the last ten years?
I assume they are talking about qualified anonymisation for the purposes of audit. This does seem like a sensible route but on the broader issue of information sharing consent is absolutely key.
So many patients suffer and die due to basic information issues. We should make IG “managers” start telling patients and their families why they have come to harm so they can’t hide behind their desks.
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