The following frequently asked questions have been developed to answer some of the more common questions that we are asked about GPES. If you can't find the answer you need here, please email us at enquiries@ic.nhs.uk and we'll try our best to help.

What is GPES and what will it do?

GPES is a centrally managed primary care data extraction service that will be capable of obtaining information from GP practices across England for specific and approved purposes whilst ensuring patient confidentiality and privacy.

When will GPES be available?

GPES is currently in development and its first major deliverable will be data for the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) in 2013/14.

Who is responsible for GPES?

The service is being developed and centrally managed on behalf of the NHS by The NHS Information Centre with the sponsorship and support of the Department of Health.

How will GPES be delivered?

GPES will be delivered by a number of IT services organisations. ATOS have been awarded the contract to provide the query tool to extract data from GP practice systems, whilst the extractions themselves will be conducted by the GP practice system suppliers. EMIS are the first GP practice system supplier to sign a contract with the NHS IC to produce GPES extracts.

How will access to sensitive (e.g. patient) data be controlled?

The NHS Information Centre will manage all requests for data from GP clinical systems. Only where data requests have satisfactorily passed internal and external governance arrangements will GPES then seek to extract data and then wherever possible on an effectively anonymised basis.

The confidentiality and security of patient data is of paramount importance which is why GPES has established some Information Governance principles that set out our commitments to safeguard the confidentiality of information in patients' records. One of these commitments is to create an Independent Advisory Group (IAG), the role of which will be to review all extraction requests.

The GPES Information Governance Principles (pdf 234KB) have been approved by the National Information Governance Board and also by the Medical Ethics Committees of the British Medical Association and the Royal College of GPs.

Will GPES extract data from all NHS systems such as GPs, hospitals, dentists, mental health trusts and other allied services?

GPES will only extract data from GP clinical systems in England. The NHS Information Centre also collects data from the acute sector, in particular the Hospital Episode Statistics, however this will not be part of GPES.

• More information about Hospital Episode Statistics

What will the information extracted by GPES be used for?

GPES has the potential to improve patient care by collecting and coordinating vital information from across general practice clinical systems in England. By making this information available to the NHS and other approved organisations, GPES can support a diverse range of improvements in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses.

Potential patient benefits could include:

• improving the screening of patients for serious conditions and therefore enabling treatments to be delivered quicker and more efficiently;
• better patient safety;
• better visibility of major public health issues (e.g. enabling the NHS to monitor flu outbreaks and deliver services where they are needed); and
• a greater insight into the uptake of vital medicines.

Is GPES a data warehouse for primary care?

No, GPES is not a data warehouse. It is a data extraction service that will gather information from GP systems on request and use that information to help improve patient care.

GPES will operate to a set of principles that include:

• never extracting information without referral to an Independent Advisory Group which includes GP and patient representatives;
• only extracting the minimum information necessary for the required purpose;
• providing information to the general public on why we are extracting data;
• providing patients with the knowledge that their data is being used appropriately and securely for the benefit of patient care;
• keeping patient data secure and restricting access only to those that need it for improving health services;
• checking that our customers - the users of the data - protect it and use it appropriately for approved purposes;
• deleting the data we extract from general practice systems as soon as we have passed it on to our authorised customers; and
• enabling patients to opt out of certain types of disclosure requests concerning patient identifiable data.

The GPES Information Governance Principles (pdf 234KB) explains in more detail our commitments to protect sensitive information. These have been approved by the National Information Governance Board and also by the Medical Ethics Committees of the British Medical Association and the Royal College of GPs.

Which organisations will be able to request extracts of data from GPES?

GPES will be used by The NHS Information Centre to provide extracts of data from GP clinical systems on behalf of specified and approved organisations that have Department of Health sponsorship. Potential customers include:

• Department of Health;
• Monitor;
• Care Quality Commission; and
• the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The NHS Information Centre will manage all requests for data from GP clinical systems. Only where data requests have satisfactorily passed internal and external governance arrangements will GPES then seek to extract data and then wherever possible on an effectively anonymised basis.

The GPES Information Governance Principles (pdf 234KB) explains in more detail our commitments to protect sensitive information.

How can I learn more about GPES?

Keep checking the GPES web pages for regular updates on the delivery of the service. You can also sign up for updates by emailing us at enquiries@ic.nhs.uk.