The OpenSafely Research Platform

OpenSAFELY lets approved researchers run analyses across 24 million NHS patient records without ever moving the data out of the secure system where it already sits. This matters because the NHS holds decades of detailed primary care data, but getting access to it for research has been slow and risky. Traditional approaches require copying pseudonymised patient data to external servers, which creates security vulnerabilities and delays. During the COVID-19 emergency, researchers needed answers in weeks, not years. OpenSAFELY solved that by sending the analysis code to the data, rather than the data to the analysts. The first results came back in just five weeks. If this model succeeds, it could transform how the NHS supports research. Instead of months-long data-sharing agreements and repeated security audits, researchers could run studies across millions of records quickly and safely. The platform is already open for security and scientific review, and all analytic software is reusable. This approach could become the standard for health data research in the UK, enabling faster answers to urgent public health questions without compromising patient privacy.