Patients Are Pulling Their NHS Data Over Palantir Concerns, Minister Warns
Tens of thousands of people have withdrawn their medical records from NHS research programmes, and the UK's health innovation minister says distrust of the American technology firm Palantir may be to blame.
Key points
- Tens of thousands of NHS patients have withdrawn their data from research use, according to new figures reported by The Guardian.
- Health innovation minister James Frith named distrust of Palantir, a US defence and health technology company, as a specific concern.
- Frith warned that public mistrust could reduce the volume of patient data available to medical researchers.
- Palantir holds a contract to build and run Federated Data Platform, the NHS's central system for sharing patient information across hospitals.
Medical research depends on patient records. The more data researchers can access, the better they can spot patterns in disease, test treatments, and plan NHS services. In England, patients can opt out of having their records used for purposes beyond their own direct care, and new figures show a meaningful number are now doing exactly that.
Health innovation minister James Frith said he is worried. Specifically, he named Palantir, the American technology company running a major NHS data system, as a source of the problem.
Why does Palantir make some patients uneasy?
Palantir built its reputation doing data analysis for the US military and intelligence agencies. That background alarms some privacy campaigners, who worry about a commercial firm with that history holding sensitive health records for millions of people in England.
Palantir was awarded a contract in 2023 to build the NHS Federated Data Platform, a centralised system that lets hospitals share patient information with each other and with researchers. The deal attracted protests and legal challenges from privacy groups at the time.
Frith told The Guardian he was concerned about "mistrust" of the company and "the impact it could have on people's willingness to share data with the NHS". He did not give a specific opt-out figure, but described the trend as something that needs addressing.
What does this mean for ordinary patients?
If you are an NHS patient in England, your data is already used for research by default, unless you have actively opted out. Opting out will not affect the care you personally receive. Doctors will still treat you the same way.
What changes is the pool available to researchers. Fewer records means researchers have less information to work with, which can slow the discovery of new treatments or make it harder to study rare conditions where patient numbers are already small.
If tens of thousands more people opt out because they distrust a particular contractor rather than the NHS itself, that is a different kind of problem from a principled objection to data sharing generally. It suggests the issue is fixable if the government can rebuild confidence.
Frith's public comments suggest the government is at least aware of the reputational problem. Whether it translates into action on the Palantir contract, greater transparency about how data is stored and used, or a public communications effort remains to be seen.
Common questions
Can I get my NHS records removed from research use?
Yes. Patients in England can opt out through the NHS website or by contacting their GP. This applies to data used for research and planning, not to records needed for your own direct care.
Does opting out affect my treatment?
No. Opting out only stops your anonymised records being used in research and NHS planning projects. Your doctors will still have full access to your medical history and your care will not change.
