NHS DigiTrials - Our Hub for Clinical Trials

About NHS DigiTrials

• The purpose of NHS DigiTrials

  NHS DigiTrials plays an important role in clinical trials. We provide secure data about people’s health and care to researchers.

  We aim to:

  • Enable more opportunities for participation in research
  • Reduce the cost and complexity of developing new treatments
  • Reduce drug costs to the NHS improve the quality of evidence on the effectiveness and safety of new treatments for patients and their doctors.

  Focusing on outcomes data will better address current clinical trial needs and is central to our vision of maintaining a service that provides clear benefits at the right time and in the right way.

• What NHS DigiTrials do

  NHS DigiTrials helps NHS patients across the length and breadth of England participate in clinical trials of new treatments. The results generated will influence the day-to-day care of millions of future NHS patients with a wide range of conditions, as well as supporting planning and research into COVID-19.

  NHS DigiTrials is made up of 4 services that support clinical trials:

  • Feasibility Service:  Works out if there are enough suitable people in England to take part in a particular trial but does not identify individuals
  • Recruitment Service: Uses patient information to identify people who might be suitable for a certain trial – and contacts them to see if they would like to take part
  • Communication Service: Keeps trial volunteers, who have consented to receive this information, updated about the progress and results of their trial
  • Outcomes Service: Uses patient information for a period of time (agreed with the trial organisation) to show the long-term impact of treatments
• How NHS DigiTrials benefits patients and the public

  NHS DigiTrials works closely with patients and the public, who are members of its co-development panel, to ensure they have been included in the design of this service. The co-development panel ensures that the service is trustworthy, accessible and keeps them well informed as to how patient data is being used for trials.

  Current outcomes supported by NHS DigiTrials have so far included the first set of results on the success of Dexamethasone in reducing deaths of people on ventilators (part of the Oxford RECOVERY trial), trials with NHS Blood and Transplant into the effectiveness of treating coronavirus patients with plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 and vaccine trials.