Opt out of sharing your health records
Important
There’s no deadline for opting out of sharing your confidential patient information for research and planning. You can make or change your choice at any time.
Why your data is important
The NHS uses information about patients (patient data) to research, plan and improve:
- the services we offer
- the treatment and care patients receive
We get this data from your GP surgery, hospitals and other healthcare providers. The organisation that collects your data is called NHS England.
To help improve services, NHS England shares this data with researchers from organisations such as universities or hospitals. This type of data-sharing has been happening for many years.
All data that is collected and shared is protected by strict rules around privacy, confidentiality and security.