Today we’ve launched our guide to Palantir’s Foundry software, developed in partnership with patients, the result of a project commissioned by Palantir. This is our latest in a series of projects that focus on patient attitudes towards how data are used in the health and care system.

 

Palantir’s Foundry software is now being used in the NHS as part of the Federated Data Platform. The Federated Data Platform aims to use data more effectively to improve how care is planned and delivered, and to reduce the administrative burden on the NHS.

 

Explaining to a lay audience how complex pieces of software such as Foundry work can be challenging. That’s why we were pleased Palantir wanted to understand the questions patients had about Foundry, and to answer. We know from previous projects that giving patients an understanding of how data are handled in the NHS is in turn an important part of giving them confidence in the way data are used.

 

We held two focus groups with patients to understand the issues they felt a guide should address. In those discussions patients raised many of the topics that we have heard before about data.

 

Who can access and use data in Foundry – and under what circumstances – was a central issue for patients. We had a wider discussion about where Palantir’s responsibilities for the data held in Foundry end, and where the responsibilities of the organisations using the software begin.

 

The security features of Foundry and how any potential breaches are prevented and responded to were also key for patients. We know from previous work on data that patients want confidence that their information is held safely.

 

Patients were also interested in how Foundry has been used in the NHS so far, and how it might be used in the Federated Data Platform in future. This included what the use of Foundry could mean for the quality of care they receive, their wider experience in the health system, and how it could help how the administrative side of the NHS operates.

 

We’re pleased to publish a guide to Foundry that addresses these issues. Although the guide focuses on what Foundry is and how it works, patients also raised wider issues with us about data and things that could hamper what the Federated Data Platform seeks to achieve. 

 

Chief among these was the quality of data. Some patients had experiences of data quality in the NHS being poor and felt that this could limit the potential of the Federated Data Platform. Patients were also concerned that a lack of staff time to input information and the fact that not all NHS services are included in the Federated Data Platform may both limit the impact it can have. 

 

Patients often ask why they can’t also see all the information the NHS has about them and we heard this again in this project. Participants also felt that patients should be consulted in the months to come so they can relay their experiences about what the introduction of the Federated Data Platform has meant for them. As an organisation that champions patient involvement in the design and delivery of services, the Patients Association agrees.

 

We hope the publication of our guide to Foundry can help answer the questions that patients have about Foundry. We look forward to continuing our work on data in future.

Rachel Power, Chief Executive

To view the report page, click here