UK Healthcare Agency Reveals Open Data Blueprint

NHS England launches research effort to accelerate use of open data to improve care and drive research.

In a move to determine how open data on healthcare should be used to improve services while maintaining patient privacy, England's national healthcare organization has partnered with New York University's Governance Lab on a blueprint designed to help stakeholders get a clear handle on the issue.

The report, Open Data Era in Health and Social Care, released Tuesday, calls for the establishment of an Open Data Learning Environment that would help National Health Service England (NHS England) improve and refine how it uses open data. The blueprint lays out a multistep process for helping NHS England develop a systematic approach to the use and sharing of open data. Through the effective sharing of open data on healthcare, NHS England hopes to enhance the quality of patient care, lower organizational costs, and broaden patient options...