The Data Hub Use Case Library

Use case summary:
This use case explains how the Data Hub helps the Norfolk and Suffolk ICB carry out its legal duties to plan and buy health services. It stores and processes national and local data where personal details are hidden. This data is used for things like reviewing services and understanding the health needs of the population.

This helps leaders make better decisions at different levels of the health system, such as local areas and primary care networks. It supports better services, helps reduce health inequalities, and makes sure resources are used where they are needed most.

Purpose of this use case:

• For Service Evaluation and Population Health Management (PHM)
• To meet ICB Statutory commissioning functions. All ICB’s have access to commissioning, pseudonymised information supplied via NHS England. The Data Hub is the hosting environment for all the data supplied from NHS England and from Contract with Care Providers. It allows the ICB to analyse the information to meets its statutory requirements. The commissioning requirements include:
  • Forecasting service and population needs
  • Evaluating and monitoring services
  • Assessing the needs and health of our population via PHM (population health management) approaches
  • Contracting services that offer value both financially and to the public’s outcomes.
• This use case relates to the NHS Constitution: “You have the right to expect your NHS to assess the health requirements of your community and to commission and put in place the services to meet those needs as considered necessary, and in the case of public health services commissioned by local authorities, to take steps to improve the health of the local community.”

Organisations that have provided data for this use case:

• Hospitals, community organisations, and other healthcare providers
• NHS England.

Organisations using the information as part of this use case:

• Norfolk and Suffolk ICB
• Approved sub-licensees.

How is the data being used:

• Information Flow 1 – Care provider data is supplied to NHS England who send it on to the ICB via the Data Processor (AGEM CSU) in a linkable pseudonymised dataset. Data is used by ICB staff in reports – these reports cannot identify individuals. Reports are available for sub licensed organisations.
• Information Flow 2 – Other care providers send data directly to the ICB who – pseudonymise it before any analysis. Data used by ICB staff in reports. – these reports cannot identify individuals. Reports are available for sub licensed organisations.

Types of data being used: Anonymised, pseudonymised and aggregated.

Use case summary:

This use case proposes adding Continuing Healthcare (CHC) data to the Data Hub. This will improve routine reporting and allow CHC data to be linked with other datasets. The data will be pseudonymised so personal details are hidden.

This will help teams understand population health needs, improve services, and support planning and commissioning across the Integrated Care System. It will also reduce the need to use identifiable patient data while providing better insight for decision-making.

Purpose of this use case:

• To support the following areas: Indirect Care, Service Delivery, Service Evaluation and Population Health Management.
• By providing the CHC team with local ID information, this enables the CHC service to run.
• Enabling CHC data to flow into the data hub is set out in NHS England Data Sharing Agreement.

Organisations that have provided data for this use case: Norfolk and Suffolk ICB.

How is the data being used:

• Information flows securely to the Data Hub from the CHC system
• Information is immediately pseudonymised
• Pseudonymised information will be analysed and shown in reports.

Information Flows:

• Information Flow 1 – The CHC team will access reports and can view information at a individual level to access local IDs to support operational needs, and to be able to run their service.
• Information Flow 2 – CHC data is accessible in pseudonymised reports.

Types of data being used:

• Flow 1 – Identifiable by local ID to CHC team only
• Flow 2 – Pseudonymised

Use case summary:

This use case enables the secure transfer of pseudonymised data from the Population Health Management system to the data hub. This data is used to identify people who may be at higher risk of poor health, review services, and help improve health outcomes for the population.

Linking this data with other datasets in the data hub helps teams make better decisions across the system. It supports joined-up care, better planning, and targeted support for the people who need it most.

Purpose of this use case:

• To support the following areas: Population Health Management, and Service Evaluation.
• To support identifying people who may be at higher risk of poor health, reviewing services, and improving health outcomes for the population. By linking this information with other datasets, it helps teams make better decisions across the system. This supports more joined-up care and allows services to focus support on the people who need it most.

Organisations that using data as part of this use case: Norfolk and Suffolk ICB. General Practitioners.

How is the data being used:

• Pseudonymised data is securely transferred from Norfolk and Suffolk ICB’s Risk Stratification provider into the data hub.
• Data is included depending on project specification and focus.

Types of data being used: Pseudonymised.

Use case summary: This use case collects information about staff from hospital can community organisations, to support strategic planning and operational efficiencies.

Purpose of this use case:

• To support the following areas, using staff information: Indirect Care, Service Evaluation.
• To help Norfolk and Suffolk ICB and the wider health and care system to get a complete picture of the local health and care workforce. This provides useful information for planning and modelling. It also makes workforce teams in health and care providers more efficient by using automated ways to collect and process data. All workforce teams can work from the same data model, making it easier to share good practice and reports.

Organisations that using data as part of this use case:

• East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH)
• James Paget University Hospital (JPUH)
• Norfolk and Suffolk ICB
• Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH)
• Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT)
• Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCHC)
• Queen Elizabeth Hospital – Kings Lynn (QEH)

How is the data being used: Identifiable data is sent to Norfolk and Suffolk ICB and held in a segregated area away for any patient information

• Information Flow 1 – information is pseudonymised and used for analytics and used on the reporting platform in aggregated and small number suppressed view – no one can be identified.
• Information Flow 2 – information is share back to the originating organisation for analysis – information is identifiable.

Types of data being used:

• Flow 1 – Aggregated
• Flow 2 – Identifiable

Use case summary: This use case lets Norfolk County Council’s and Suffolk County Council’s Public Health Intelligence (PHI) teams access pseudonymised commissioning data through the data hub. The data is used to carry out public health duties, such as assessing local health needs, looking at health inequalities, and reviewing the impact of services.

Access to this data provides timely, local insights that help with planning, improving services, and making decisions based on evidence across our health and care system and our Health and Wellbeing Board.

Purpose of this use case:

• To support the following areas: Population Health Management, and Service Evaluation.
• To use pseudonymised commissioning data from the Data Hub to carry out Public Health Intelligence (PHI) work.
• To support projects on prevention, health inequalities, healthy ageing, and other public health and ICS workstreams and needs assessments.
• To measure the impact of interventions that are already in place and evaluate how well they are working.

Organisations that using data as part of this use case:

• Norfolk County Council – Population Health Intelligence team only
• Suffolk County Council – Population Health Intelligence team only

How is the data being used: The data is securely encrypted, and there is fully auditable access to pseudonymised database analytical platform to data already held for commissioning purposes.

Types of data being used: Pseudonymised. Reports can also be aggregated and anonymous.

Use case summary: This use case provides information on mental health services waiting times to allow the Integrated Front Door (IFD) service to more effectively triage and refer patients.

Purpose of this use case:

• To support the IFD team to make informed decisions about where to send referrals. A waiting list dashboard was created so they can see how long each care providers waiting times are and send referrals where patients can be seen sooner.
• The Integrated Front Door – also known as ‘Just One Number’ – is a single point of access for Norfolk & Waveney Children & Young People’s Health Services. The IFD receives referrals and then either signposts to self-care or forwards them on to a different provider.

Organisations that using data as part of this use case: Cambridge Community Services.

How is the data being used: The data hub produces a dashboard using existing data for the Cambridge Community Services to use.

Type of data being used: Pseudonymised data is used throughout – no individuals can be identified.

Use case summary: We are creating one shared Patient Tracking List (PTL) for hospitals across Norfolk and Waveney. This will be led by clinicians and will bring together waiting list information with other patient data from the Data Hub.

The aim is to make things fairer for patients, reduce risks, and help teams support each other. By having a clear, shared view of patients, staff can better decide who needs care first and plan services more effectively.

Purpose of this use case:

• To support the following areas: Direct Care and Indirect Care
• To support prioritisation of all elective waiting lists.
• To create a single patient tracker list merged from the waiting lists of Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust.

Organisations involved in using the data: Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust.

How the data will be used: There will be two main outputs.

• Information Flow 1 – Power BI reports will show non-identifiable aggregated information and will be used for the identification of cohorts.
• Information Flow 2 – Data extracts enhanced with other data source (primary care and provider data sets) will be made available to allow acute providers to support operational booking of patients and to enable identification of cohorts. Data will be identified using provider IDs (e.g. PAS or Hospital number) rather than NHS number to allow linkage to internal reports.

Types of data being used:

• Flow 1 – pseudonymised and aggregated information
• Flow 2 – Identifiable – to specified hospital staff only to facilitate direct care.

Use case summary: This project helps Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) access information from across the whole system to support reviews when patients die.

It gives a clearer picture of each patient’s journey, helping teams better understand expected and unexpected deaths. The data is updated every month, providing useful insights that can help improve care across NSFT and the wider system.

Purpose of this use case:

• To support the following areas: Direct Care – mortality audit.
• To meet Mortality Review requirements. The use case enables NSFT to have the information required for a more detailed view of patients pathways support improved understanding of expected and unexpected deaths of patients engaged with the organisation.

Organisations involved in using the data: Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.

How the data is being used:

• The data being used is already in the hub and then being linked with mortality data.
• The data will provide details of service engagement in numbers, such as number of A&E attendances for individuals. Also, mortality data set information will be linked to NSFT local ID to enable identification for the purpose of mortality review and audit.

Type of data being used: Identifiable via local ID to NSFT Mortality team only.

Use case summary: This allows Integrated Care System (ICS) staff to request re-identification of specific group of individuals who have been identified in benefitting from support and/or care to improve their health.

Purpose of this use case:

• To support Direct Care
• After reviewing data to understand local care needs, groups of patients who may need care can be identified. A care provider, such as a GP practice, can then request to identify these patients so they can offer support. For example, patients with a learning disability who have not had a health check in the last year may be identified. The GP practice will receive NHS numbers only through the reporting system, so staff can contact patients and offer them a health check.

Organisations involved in using the data: Any ICS care service commissioned to deliver care locally.

How this data will be used:

• Data is already held within the Data Hub.
• Care providers can request to identify a patient from this data.
• Each request is checked against strict rules.
• If approved, the system securely sends the NHS number directly to the care provider. Data Hub staff cannot see any identifiable information.
• The care provider then checks their own records to confirm the patient still needs care before contacting them.
• All requests are reviewed and monitored each month.

Type of data being used: Identifiable – only to the individuals offered direct care

Use case summary: This use case has improved information quality and ensures that patient records are accurately linked across the three hospitals in Norfolk and Waveney by creating a unified Master Patient Index (MPI).

Purpose of this use case:

• To support Direct Care
• To create a unified Master Patient Index (MPI) to ensure Data Quality of information in preparation for the Shared Electronic Patient Record (EPR System)
• Having the MPI in place aimed to help to ensure that records migrated to the new EPR were joined where a patient has been seen by more than one of the acute hospitals. This meant that any information captured about that patient in one of the acute hospitals is available to all the hospitals linked to a single patient record.

Organisations involved in using the data:

• Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust
• Norfolk and Waveney ICB Data Hub (Data Processor)

How the data was used:

• Data is sent from the three acute trusts to a secure, separate area of the Data Hub.
• Data quality checks are carried out to make sure the information is accurate and complete.
• The checked data is then shared back with each Trust.

Type of data that was used:

• Identifiable – Personal Details, contact details, relationships and demographics – no health data.
• The project only processed what is needed to ensure that the data is accurate to support the process of a single EPR.

Use case summary: Watton Medical Practice information will be anonymised and sent to Health Innovation East, via the Data Hub, to evaluate the proactive community health work programme.

Purpose of this use case:

• To support Service Evaluation
• Breckland District Council as part of the Breckland Health and Wellbeing Partnership have commissioned Health Innovations East to evaluate The Community Health Worker programme in Watton.

Organisations involved in using the data:

• Breckland Council
• Watton Medical Practice
• Norfolk and Waveney ICB (NWICB) Data Hub
• Health Innovations East

How the data was used:

• Anonymised data was prepared by NWICB using national data sets and Watton Surgery Information.
• This data was sent securely to Health Innovations East to complete the evaluation.

Type of data that was used: Anonymous.