Hospital medicines data could help researchers understand whether new medicines are reaching the patients they are intended for, how their use varies across the country and what outcomes they achieve. But this information is often held in different systems and is not routinely available for research purposes.

The new Med Map project, led by NHS England and developed with PRSB, the University of Liverpool, Understanding Patient Data and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, will develop the standards and tools needed to prepare hospital medicines data consistently for research within NHS England’s Secure Data Environment.

The project is funded by the Health Data Research Service (HDRS) as part of its technical transformation programme and will run until March 2027.

Why is this work needed?

Primary care medicines data are widely used in research, but secondary care medicines data remain fragmented across different systems. National electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (ePMA) data cover around 27% of activity, while completeness and quality vary between NHS trusts. Data on high cost drugs are also held in different systems and collections and are not routinely available as research datasets through the Data Access Request Service (DARS).

Over the past 15 years, a growing share of new medicines have been started and prescribed in hospitals. Improving access to this information would help NHS England, NICE, the MHRA and researchers assess the use and effectiveness of medicines in routine care.

Developing a consistent approach

The Med Map project will develop the standards and tools needed to prepare hospital medicines data consistently for secure research. These will be tested using ePMA and high cost drugs data within NHS England’s Secure Data Environment. The work will include developing a Therapeutic Episode Model, which brings together information about a medicine, including the condition being treated, dose, how it is given and patient outcomes. This will help researchers understand how medicines are used and assess their impact rather than relying on medicine codes which do not give a full picture.

The outcome will support a range of research uses such as understanding whether patients are receiving new treatments like teplizumab or assessing the outcomes of high cost medicines for conditions such as severe asthma. More consistent data could also support medicines safety monitoring and research into how people respond to treatments. The work will run from October 2026 to March 2027.

NICE, UK Biobank and Our Future Health have written in support of the project.

Find out more about the Med Map project on our project page.