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http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12 ... 29316.htmlDavid Cameron On Life Sciences (FULL SPEECH)5th December 2011
I’m here today because life science – and the UK’s role in it – is at a crossroads.
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OPEN DATA
And there’s something else we’re doing: opening up the vast amounts of data generated in our health service.
From this month, huge amounts of new data are going to be released online…
…the real-world evidence that scientists have been crying out for…
…and we’re delivering it.
We’ve seen how powerful the release of data can be.
Thanks to the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, the Institute of Psychiatry now has access to a database covering a quarter of a million patients.
It’s got their brain scans, their medical records, their notes – a huge wealth of information, all consented to, all anonymised – that’s helping them find new answers in the fight against dementia.
It is simply a waste to have a health system like the NHS and not do this kind of thing.
So we don’t want to stop there.
We’re going to consult on actually changing the NHS constitution, so that the default is for patients’ data to be used for research – unless of course they want to opt out.
The end result would be that every willing patient is a research patient…
…that every time you use the NHS you’re playing a part in the fight against disease, at home and around the world.
Again, this shows that we have listened – and we are acting.
I know you’ve heard promises like this before.
That’s why I have asked Sir John Bell and Chris Brinsmead – two experts in this field – to report back to me every six months on how we’re doing.
Believe me – we are determined to convert these words and policy papers into action.
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