OpenSAFELY

{{short description|Medical statistics platform}}

{{about|the medical records statistical platform|the machinery communication protocol|OpenSAFETY}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Use British English|date=May 2020}}

OpenSAFELY is a secure analytics platform, interfacing to NHS patient records and enabling statistical analysis of them by medical researchers. The platform was originally a collaboration between DataLab at the University of Oxford, the EHR group at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and electronic health record software companies.{{cite web |title=OpenSAFELY: secure access to data to deepen our understanding of COVID-19 |website=NHS Transformation Directorate |url=https://transform.england.nhs.uk/key-tools-and-info/data-saves-lives/improving-care-through-research-and-innovation/opensafely-secure-access-to-data-to-deepen-our-understanding-of-covid-19/ |access-date=2025-03-04}} The platform is now developed by the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, part of Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences.{{cite web |title=Major investment to transform mental health treatment research and further develop secure NHS data platform |website=Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford |date=2025-02-19 |url=https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/news/researchers-17m-wellcome-award-mental-health-data-research |access-date=2025-03-04}}

Initially, it has been used to make an analysis of the risk factors associated with deaths from COVID-19 in hospital in the UK.{{r|Nature}} This is significant because the dataset is especially large, covering about 58 million patients.{{r|Economist}} In 2023, the NHS announced that it would expand the use of the OpenSAFELY platform to help drive life-saving advances for other major diseases.{{Cite web |title=NHS England » NHS expands use of secure COVID-19 research platform to help find new treatments for major killer conditions |url=https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/11/nhs-expands-use-of-secure-covid-19-research-platform-to-help-find-new-treatments-for-major-killer-conditions/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=www.england.nhs.uk|date=17 November 2023 }}

The platform interfaces with a secure database of pseudonymized primary care records, and only aggregated results are viewable by researchers. This allows researchers to access a large dataset necessary for identifying potential risk factors without the risks of exposing personal patient information.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-05-23|title=OpenSAFELY: more proof that tackling the coronavirus pandemic does not require privacy to be compromised|url=https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/opensafely-more-proof-that-tackling-the-coronavirus-pandemic-does-not-require-privacy-to-be-compromised/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-10-15|website=Privacy News Online|language=}}

In 2025 the OpenSAFELY project was awarded a package of funding from the Wellcome Trust, this included £7 million to analyse the outcomes of talking therapies across the NHS. A further £10 million was awarded to develop data infrastructure, including investigating "new methods for connecting diverse health datasets and enhanced analytical tools for researchers".{{cite web |last=Dimitrova |first=Galya |title=National health data scheme awarded 'transformative' £17m funding |website=BBC News |date=2025-02-20 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg5x5x3rq3o |access-date=2025-03-04}}