Imperial College MPH

Measurement of the quality of primary care is now an increasing feature of the NHS and health systems in other countries. The availability of data from computerised medical records has greatly facilitated this process. As part of a session on primary care data in the Health Informatics module on the Imperial Master of Public Health (MPH) Programme, I asked one group of students to use data from the GP Quality & Outcomes Framework in the UK to illustrate how primary care data could be used to measure the quality of diabetes care. You can view their presentation via the link below. Inter-practice variation in quality of diabetes care in England

Primary care data has an important role in public health surveillance. For example, the RCGP Research & Surveillance Centre and the HPA Out-of-Hours Surveillance System provide valuable information on patterns of infectious diseases in England. As part of a session on primary care data in the Health Informatics module on the Imperial Master of Public Health (MPH) Programme, I asked one group of students to summarise present on the use of primary care data for public health & infectious diseases surveillance. You can view the presentation via the link below. Presentation on the use of primary care data for public health surveillance

As part of a session on primary care data in the Health Informatics module on the Imperial Master of Public Health Programme, I asked students to work in two groups to present arguments for and against the NHS Care.Data programme. Care.Data is an NHS programme that will extract data from the medical records held by general practitioners (GPs) in England. The Care.Data programme takes advantage of the very high level of use of electronic medical records by GPs in England. After extraction, data will be uploaded to NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). The data will then be used for functions such as health care planning, monitoring disease patterns and research. The programme has been controversial with proponents arguing that the programme will bring many benefits for the NHS and the population of England; and opponents arguing it is a major breach of privacy. You can view the two presentations to help inform you further about these arguments: Arguments for th...

Former MPH Student Thomas Cowling won the Early Career Researcher Award at the 2014 South-East England Regional Society of Academic Primary Care (SAPC) Meeting . Tom is now a NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Primary Care & Public Health at Imperial College London. Tom's presentation was "Access to General Practice and Attendances at A&E Departments in England". The picture to the left shows Tom receiving his award from Professor David Mant from the University of Oxford. Tom's Research was funded by the NIHR.