From July 2025, all GP practices in England are required to enable NHS England-approved researchers to use coded information (such as diagnoses, prescriptions and test results), joined to other health information, for important research studies. The national project is called OpenSAFELY and comprises software that researchers use to study health information. Developed by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for COVID-19, it is now being used to support wider research. The system has been designed to keep your data safe and is endorsed by the Royal College of GPs.
Further details about this national project are here: NHS OpenSAFELY. Patients can opt out individually, and instructions on how to do this are available here