The translation of patients' written medical records in GP surgeries into electronic documents, summaries of which that can be held in a national central database, offer real opportunities to advance research. Patient records could be used to identify patients to take part in clinical trials or in epidemiological research assessing the causes and spread of disease.

However, the possibility raises similar concerns to those raised by biological databanks, which centre around anonymity and protection of data against unauthorised access.

To find out what the public thinks about providing personal medical data for research, both the MRC and Wellcome Trust conducted polls in 2007. The findings indicated that on the whole people were willing to do so, if they understood why it was wanted and had confidence in the integrity of the research process. There was however also some "scepticism about guarantees of anonymity, based on people's experiences in their everyday lives of anonymity and confidentiality being breached".  

To help develop guidance for healthcare professionals on the use of anonymised, coded and identifiable data from patient records in research, the Trust held a national consensus meeting for GPs, researchers and patient groups at its Euston Road headquarters in 2008. The results were compiled in a report endorsed by the British Medical Association [PDF], Royal College of General Practitioners and other UK health organisations.   

A Data Sharing Review, undertaken by Richard Thomas, Information Commissioner, and Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, considered the use and sharing of personal data in for research and statistical analysis.

The report [PDF], published in July 2008, includes a number of recommendations, including the proposal that safe havens - designated electronic areas that provide security for confidential data protected by trusted custodians ('honest brokers') - should be designed. The report also proposed that the NHS should develop a system to allow approved researchers to work with healthcare providers to identify potential participants in clinical studies. The Government response, published in 24 November 2008, fully endorsed these recommendations.