In February 2026 the Secretary of State for Health signed a legal document called a Direction, which laid the foundation for Our Future Health to receive coded GP records for participants who are registered with a General Practice in England. This is in line with the consent participants provided when they joined Our Future Health.

We’re now working on an official agreement with NHS England. Once we have finalised plans for NHS England to share the data with us, we will update our participants by email. In the meantime, here is some more information about how it will work.

Frequently asked questions about GP records and Our Future Health

How do participants agree to sharing their data for research purposes?

When you sign up to Our Future Health, the first thing you do is read information about joining the programme. You would then provide consent to join and share information including your health records for research purposes.

Why are you receiving the data now?

Although we’ve had consent from millions of participants to share their health records with Our Future Health to make available for research, up to now we’ve only been able to access information from hospital visits, medicines dispensed in community settings and diabetes and cancer care. This is because we were waiting for a decision from the UK Government that GP data could be shared with large health research programmes where they meet strict data security regulations, and when participants have given their consent.

In February 2026, the UK Government announced that 3 large health research programmes could receive the data provided they meet a strict set of criteria. We are happy to report that Our Future Health is one of them.

Since the UK Government’s announcement, we’ve been working to create an official agreement. We will update our participants when that agreement is in place.

Does the GP data cover the whole of the UK?

Not at this stage. NHS England is sharing with us coded data from GP practices in England only.

We are currently unable to access data from GP practices in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland but we are working with the administrations in these countries to try to set up similar arrangements.

When will researchers start to study the data?

Once we receive the data from the NHS, we will need to prepare it for our trusted research environment, which is the secure computing environment where researchers access our participants’ data. It’s a significant task that will take us a few months to complete. We’re anticipating that the data will be ‘research-ready’ within 6 months of us receiving it. However, timings may change.

Is my entire GP record shared with researchers?

No – only the codes that a GP inputs, referring to things like symptoms, diagnoses and referrals. We do not receive the ‘free text notes’ or letters that your GP writes into the medical record system in their own language. Clinicians might also attach documents to your records, but these are not shared with Our Future Health.

I’m already a participant – do I need to do anything to share my GP data with researchers?

No – you already consented to share your information when you first signed up to Our Future Health.

I’ve signed up but I haven’t done my questionnaire or attended an appointment. Can you still share my GP data with researchers?

Yes, this will happen if you have consented to join the programme. You do not need to complete your questionnaire or attend an appointment, but we still ask that you take those two steps at a convenient time because they provide even more information for researchers to make new discoveries with.

I don’t want health researchers to access my de-identified GP data. What should I do?

We are sorry that you feel this way. When you consent to take part in Our Future Health, this consent includes permitting researchers working on approved studies to securely access de-identified NHS data, for example GP record data. If you wish, you can withdraw from Our Future Health, or reduce your involvement, at any time.

Information about opt-outs

I live in England and have a Type-1 Opt-out. Will health researchers access my GP data?

No – Our Future Health will not receive your GP data from the NHS, in accordance with your Type-1 Opt-out.

If you have asked your GP to record a Type-1 Opt-out, your GP practice will have added a code into your record which prevents the information from being shared. More information on this and what to do if you wish to change your decision can be found on the NHS website.

Can you tell me if I have a Type 1 Opt-out in place?

Our Future Health does not hold this information. If you want to find out more information or details on how to change your choice, NHS England have published information in their transparency notice for the service and on their page about opting out of sharing your health records.

I live in England and have a National Data Opt-out. Will health researchers be able to access my GP data?

Yes, because you have given explicit consent your data will still flow to us as per your wishes.