OpenSAFELY COVID-19 Service

The OpenSAFELY COVID-19 Service provides a secure analytics service for academics, analysts and data scientists to access general practice (GP) and NHS England pseudonymised patient data for COVID-19 purposes.

The Service is currently being operated under a notice issued by the Secretary of State under the Health Service Control of Patient Information Regulations 2002. This notice expires at the end of June 2023, following which the Service will be operated under the COVID-19 Public Health Directions 2020 issued by the Secretary of State.

This Data Provision Notice (DPN) has been issued to explain this transfer of legal basis and to provide background information on the Service's value and status as a critical COVID-19 resource. The DPN also notes how Type 1 objections will be upheld in respect of GP patient data.

This Notice is served on:

• All General Practices across England using TPP and EMIS GP health record systems.

The Service will be delivered under the COVID-19 Public Health Directions 2020 from 1 July 2023 and will be subject to an annual review.

13 June 2023: First publication of this Data Provision Notice which was issued to GP Practices on 2 June 2023. Note that its version number (v2.0) reflects internal document management.