Patient data from five GP surgeries in England is now being fed into the NHS's Palantir-built data platform. This move extends the US firm's reach beyond its initial focus on hospital operations into local surgeries.
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, one of England's largest Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), is overseeing the integration of this data into Palantir's Federated Data Platform (FDP). An internal NHS note reportedly described this as a "significant milestone".
The FDP is a software primarily used in hospital trusts, designed to organise NHS datasets and address hospital backlogs. Palantir stated it was "proud" its software was "helping to improve patient care nationally".
Under the Cheshire and Merseyside pilot, data from the five GP practices will be used to help the ICB understand and manage the health needs of its patient population. Patient data is pseudonymised by a third party before entering the system, though it is unclear if patients consent to this sharing.
An NHS spokesperson confirmed that ICBs can access GP data where data-sharing agreements are in place. Some 35 ICBs in England have signed up to the FDP, but not all use it for collecting patient data for population health management.
This pilot appears to differ from assurances given by the former Conservative government in 2023, when ministers stated that "GP data will not be part of the national platform".
The FDP contract, awarded in 2023 for £330m, has faced criticism. In August, the government increased the projected whole-life cost of the FDP to £1.1bn, while reducing forecast benefits to £808m.