Pilot studies to align NHS and private healthcare data
NHS and private healthcare data organisations have put together three pilot studies in a bid to align doctors’ reporting data in the two different sectors.
The three pilot studies are:
1. The Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) will share a subset of its record-level admitted patient care (APC) data with NHS Digital and the private data will be compared with its NHS equivalent to see where any discrepancies might exist and consider, for example, how the combined NHS and private dataset could be used by organisations such as the Care Quality Commission to support effective regulation.
2. An evaluation of barriers to independent hospitals submitting data directly to NHS Digital – instead of to PHIN – with onward submission to PHIN to fulfil their duties under the CMA Order.
3. An evaluation of the use of NHS Digital’s APC Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) for PHIN as an alternative source of private APC data from NHS private patient units, rather than it being sent directly to PHIN.
What ‘data’ is PHIN talking about?
The current phase of the ADAPt programme is only concerned with admitted patient care (APC) data. This is the episode-level record data that includes information such as the admission and discharge information, diagnostic and treatment information in the form of ICD-10 and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys’ codes, and details of which consultant(s) provided the care.
In the case of pilot 1, this will also include certain items of personal data, the processing of which will be only carried out on an appropriate legal basis. At this stage, the ADAPt programme is not concerned with the wider data PHIN collections, such as Never Events, infections or patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).
Why should this make a difference to better regulation?
The Paterson Inquiry called for a single repository of consultant’s whole practice.
PHIN said incorporating the private APC data from independent hospitals alongside the NHS equivalent provides a large part of that whole-practice dataset, although additional information – such as information about practising privileges – are also likely to be required.