About this event

  • Date and time Mon 10 Feb 2025 from 5:30pm to 7:00pm
  • Location Royal Society of Medicine

Following the success of our Great Debate on Semaglutide, join us as we debate the motion:

“This house believes that the NHS should not monetise its data".

The NHS holds a vast resource of data, including anonymised health records, treatment outcomes, and population health trends, which are considered a valuable resource. With strict regulations in place, sharing this data with third parties has led to groundbreaking research in the UK, advanced innovation such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), and improved healthcare delivery. But is monetising NHS data the right path forward?

  • For monetisation: Monetising NHS data supports medical research, drives policy improvements, and fosters innovation in treatments and healthcare technology. Revenue generated can offset costs of anonymisation and secure data sharing. Some argue that the NHS should receive a greater share of profits generated by medical innovations or technologies which are developed using NHS data.
  • Against monetisation: Data breaches, lack of transparency, and ethical concerns pose significant risks. Strong safeguards are needed to protect patient confidentiality and maintain public trust. Are GDPR and the current NHS data governance policies balancing innovation with privacy effectively? 

Engage with leading experts, policymakers, and healthcare professionals as we tackle one of the most pressing questions in UK healthcare: Can the NHS balance innovation, privacy, and public benefit effectively?

The Royal Society of Medicine is committed to continuing its proud tradition of creating opportunities for healthcare professionals and others to learn from balanced and informed conversations on important medical topics. This Great Debate aims to drive discussions forward, leveraging the collective wisdom of the audience to enrich the current dialogue. Whether you're a healthcare professional, a student aspiring to join the field, or simply someone passionate about the future of healthcare, this event is for you. Expand your understanding, challenge your beliefs, and walk away inspired to be a catalyst for change in the future of healthcare. 

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Tickets

Standard pricing available until 09 February 2025.

Free for everyone

Member

RSM Fellow RSM Associate RSM Student RSM Retired Fellow RSM Trainee
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Non - Member

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Key speakers

Axel Heitmueller resized

Dr Axel Heitmueller

Chief Executive Officer, Imperial College Health Partners

Speaker's biography

Dr Axel Heitmueller is currently the CEO of Imperial College Health Partners, an innovation agency for the NHS. As part of this role, he is founding Director of Discover-Now, a Real World Evidence Hub working with a wide range of clients. Dr Heitmueller is also Visiting Professor at the Institute of Global Health Innovation and Senior Associate Fellow at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Dr Heitmueller brings a broad range of experience from academia and central government where he was Deputy Director and Chief Analyst at the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit in the Cabinet Office and No. 10. More recently, he was the National Director for innovation for NHS Test and Trace.

Sam Smith

Mr Sam Smith

Policy Lead and Coordinator, MedConfidential

Speaker's biography

Sam is a coordinator at medConfidential which is an independent non-partisan organisation campaigning for confidentiality and consent in health and social care, which seeks to ensure that every flow of data into, across and out of the NHS and care system is consensual, safe, and transparent.

 

Founded in January 2013, medConfidential works with patients and medics, service users and care professionals; draws advice from a network of experts in the fields of health informatics, computer security, law/ethics and privacy; and believes there need be no conflict between good research, good ethics and good medical care.

Jonathan McKnee

Mr Jonathan McKee

Head of Information Governance, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Past President, Medicine and Society Section, Royal Society of Medicine

Speaker's biography

Mr Jonathan McKee is a leader in the field of information governance, providing support to clinical colleagues to facilitate transformation and improvement in care and the experience of the service. Of particular interest is the importance of patient engagement in the development of approaches, informing the development of processes that put clinicians in a position to innovate and implement improvements in an environment of safe and secure practice.

 

As Immediate Past President of the Medicine and Society Section of the Royal Society of Medicine, and having a clinical background and over thirty years experience in the NHS, including heading research ethics in London, and chairing a professional network of information governance professionals, Mr McKee is well placed to bring a holistic understanding of sound management to the  consideration of use cases for care or research and planning.

Ms Caroline Rivett

Former Partner, Global Cyber Security Life Sciences Leader, KPMG International, and Partner, KPMG in the UK

Agenda

View the programme

Registration, tea and coffee
Introduction of the motion and initial vote

Professor Gillian Leng CBE, President, Royal Society of Medicine and
Professor Sir Simon Wessely, Past President, Royal Society of Medicine and Debate Moderator

First speaker for the motion
First speaker against the motion
Second speaker for the motion
Second speaker against the motion
Audience participation
First speaker for the motion
First speaker against the motion
Final vote and closing remarks

Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Professor Gillian Leng CBE

Close of meeting

Location

Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole St, Marylebone, London, W1G 0AE, United Kingdom

Disclaimer: All views expressed in this event are of the speakers themselves and not of the RSM.

Registration for this event will close on 9 February 2025 at 1:00am (GMT)

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Why not stay in the comfort of our hotel, Domus Medica, book dinner in the restaurant, or even hire one of our private dining rooms to socialise with your peers?

RSM members enjoy access to our enviable club facilities. For more information, please contact our team at domus@rsm.ac.uk or restaurant@rsm.ac.uk.

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