This week, Westminster eForum hosted a policy conference on The future for sharing and portability of consumer data - enabling data-driven innovation, safeguards, and the impact of the Smart Data Review, 31st March 2020.  In light of the current pandemic, this blog will cover the role that digital platforms and data sharing will play to keep the population safe and help the government and Public Health England on the front line.

Philip James, Partner, Technology and Digital Media, Sheridans, reflected on the global response to the pandemic.  Much like with a cyber security virus, the pandemic is being tackled through sharing information to allow people to protect themselves.  Data and digital platforms will play a crucial role in helping the UK to respond to this rapidly evolving crisis and protect the public.

NHS Pandemic Data Platform

NHSX are developing a pandemic data platform to curb COVID-19.  The aim of the platform will be to provide decision-makers with accurate, real-time information to help them fight the pandemic on the front line. It will facilitate the ability to track the spread of the virus, anticipate where it might spread to next, and to allocate resources as they become depleted or are overwhelmed by demand.  The data entered into the platform will be presented as dashboards to provide a single source of truth informing decision-making.

"It is not the time to be critical about when these platforms should have been brought in. NHSX are leading on this to build a data platform to share instances of infection and what resources are being stretched within the system."

Philip James

NHS England have identified a number of ways in which this platform will support the health service:

• Occupancy levels in hospitals - general beds and specialist / critical care beds
• Capacity of A&E departments and current waiting times
• Statistics on the length of stay for COVID-19 patients
• Understand how the virus is spreading at local level
• Proactively increase health and care resources in emerging hot spots
• Supply critical equipment where it is needed most
• The ability to divert patients to facilities that are best able to care for them

Measures are in place to ensure that the requirements of data protection legislation is met.  All of the data added to the data store is anonymous, and identifiers, such as name and address, have been replaced with a pseudonym.  Once the outbreak has been contained, the data store will be closed, and the data will be destroyed or returned in accordance with the contractual agreements in place. The knowledge gained throughout this crisis could prove crucial for dealing with future epidemics.

Contact Tracing App

Another initiative currently being fast-tracked is an app to manage contact tracing.  Contact tracing is particularly relevant for COVID-19 because someone who is infected does not display symptoms and will infect others before their own symptoms materialise.  The UK are trying to develop a system that will be respectful of privacy laws.  It is currently voluntary, with the hope that people will sign up and share their data out of a sense of civic duty. 

The app, being developed by NHSX and the University of Oxford, will require people to sign up and agree to share their location data for the duration of the pandemic.  The app works by tracing the movement of all users.  As soon as a user starts showing symptoms, they report this via the app, which will then notify all users who may be at risk - they came into contact with that individual in the seven days previous - and inform them that they need to self-isolate. Establishing public trust to encourage engagement with the initiative will require clear, transparent communication confirming why this is necessary, that only essential data is being collected (and what that data is), and outlining what will happen to the data once the project has been completed. 

Building Public Trust

As our reliance on data driven services escalates in the current crisis, the Open Banking system is a very good example of best practice in building and delivering a trusted service for the public.  The principle underpinning Open Banking is that information or data that the bank holds on a customer belongs to the customer.  If they want to use that data in any way, they should be able to in a secure and convenient manner.  The customer is reassured that their data is secure and that their bank will never share that information with anyone without their consent.

The service helps bank customers manage their accounts and financial affairs, empowering them to make realistic decisions about their finances.  Customers can always ask for professional advice from their bank if they need help. The simple architecture of this relationship has very clear parameters, and when acting quickly in the public interest, employing a similar methodology would be a very sensible approach to overcome issues of public trust where personal data is concerned.

For more on Open Banking, click HERE.

Post Contributor:

Caitriona Fitzsimons Digital Reporter