NHS Care.Data GP Information Extraction To Be Handled By Atos

The NHS has selected French IT services firm Atos to handle the extraction of data from GP surgeries in England as part of the controversial care.data scheme.

The news comes despite last week’s announcement that the plan will be delayed by six months because the NHS failed to inform its patients of the changes properly.

The company will be providing its General Practice Extraction Service, which it claims is a centrally managed primary care data extraction system. It obtains information from GPs across England for approved purposes while maintaining patient confidentiality and privacy.

According to UK press reports, this service will replace the one currently provided by the Quality Management and Analysis System in what is a multi-million pound deal.

“The new systems are required in order to provide the NHS Commissioning Board with a more flexible service [that will] deliver current and emerging outcomes data and any related payments for GP practices and Clinical Commissioning Groups,” claimed Atos.

It added that these include the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) and the proposed Commissioning Outcomes Framework (COF).

Besides this, the company says it will provide integration with the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) infrastructure to ensure compliance with the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

While the NHS has claimed information gathered as part of care.data will not be sold to insurance companies and the like, privacy campaigners such as the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and the British Medical Association (BMA) have shown concern.

Earlier this month, RCGP released a statement saying it believes not enough has been done to inform the public about the benefit and safeguards surrounding the programme, while BMA welcomed the delay in its rollout.

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