Published: 21 May 2024

In response to the publication of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change's A New National Purpose: Harnessing Data for Health report, AMRC CEO, Nicola Perrin, said: 

“Harnessing the power of patient data to transform care and research is essential.  Much more needs to be done, urgently, to improve access to high-quality, linked datasets to enable research and innovation. There is also an important opportunity to leverage the value of NHS data, and to ensure that the NHS and patients benefit from that value. 

Today’s report from the Tony Blair Institute is the starting point for a debate about how best to achieve this. It will, rightly, spark discussion about the proposed business model, whether a public-private partnership is the right approach, and questions about the feasibility and practical aspects of implementation.

But any new model will only work if the public, patients and healthcare professionals have confidence in the solution. The next stage of the discussion must therefore include these groups as key partners in co-producing the design and informing governance arrangements. There are a range of different options and models that should be explored. By engaging openly and transparently, there is an opportunity to design a bold solution for the benefit of patients and the NHS.”