# Planning, research and public-health exchange **Some information must be supplied for running health services or meeting public-health reporting duties. Research uses need their own study-specific authority and arrangements.** For each purpose, establish the information, responsible organisation, recipient and required method. A duty to report in writing may allow electronic delivery without making that method compulsory. This page explains the purpose distinctions. The [national service-report comparison](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/national-service-reports/index.md) supplies four detailed activity/payment examples; the [blood-results example](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/examples/blood-tests-results/index.md) compares notification duties. These exchanges sit alongside the wiki's main individual-care examples. ## Planning and national collections National collections provide information for planning, monitoring and payment. A **return** is a report submitted for such a purpose. Some requirements involve sending a file; others involve keeping data available for authorised extraction. England's Commissioning Data Sets (CDS) Data Provision Notice requires covered providers to submit specified activity information through the Secondary Uses Service, SUS+, in XML format. The current standard and actual collection timetable determine the relevant submission. Access and later use of the collected information have their own conditions. [SRC-011](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-011), [SRC-193](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-193), [SRC-194](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-194) Welsh General Medical Services (GMS) regulation 23 requires appointment/activity mapping, authorised extraction availability and review arrangements. The separate Welsh Emergency Care Data Set (WECDS) mandate calls for daily provisional and monthly validated reporting, with full implementation by 31 March 2027. The [catalogue](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/digital-requirements/index.md) distinguishes that administrative mandate from the statutorily prescribed GP terms. [SRC-195](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-195), [SRC-048](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-048) Scotland's Community Glaucoma Service (CGS) clinician terms require assessment claims to be electronic and submitted within three months. General hospital SMR01 reporting has a documented electronic route and six-week target, but its collection-specific binding legal authority remains unverified. Northern Ireland's KH03a report has a general statutory Trust reporting framework and published electronic instructions; their precise legal linkage remains qualified. The [national report examples](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/national-service-reports/index.md) explain the claim triggers, periods and private-provider boundaries. [SRC-216](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-216), [SRC-270](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-270), [SRC-280](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-280), [SRC-283](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-283) ## Research For research, identify what the particular study, collection power, approval and applicable agreement require and permit. A research approval or Article 9 research condition is not a general instruction for every provider to send identifiable records digitally. Confidentiality and data-protection requirements continue to apply. [SRC-002](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-002), [SRC-012](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-012), [SRC-013](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-013) The Scottish ACCORD procedure provides a local example. Study teams use the specified NHS Lothian electronic patient-record routes for information relevant to participants' clinical care. Its local scope and actual regulatory/contractual linkage matter; it is not a nationwide research extraction requirement. [SRC-224](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-224) The [dated implementation record](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/context/secondary-use-status/index.md) explains Northern Ireland's secondary-use approval machinery and Scotland's Care Reform framework. Those completed status checks retain their reopening triggers. A prospective scheme or unfinished approval mechanism cannot supply a completed project approval. ## Public health A notifiable disease or laboratory finding can trigger a statutory report, with nation-specific information, actors, recipients and timing. A requirement for writing, an urgent oral report and an electronic submission are different instructions. The [blood-results example](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/examples/blood-tests-results/index.md) compares the actual clauses across the four nations. [SRC-262](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-262), [SRC-205](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-205), [SRC-214](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-214), [SRC-215](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-215) Condition-specific disease lists and special later regulations need their own source checks. A digital reporting service may implement a statutory duty whose general notification provision permits more than one method. ## Keep purposes distinct Information collected for care can also be useful for planning, public health or research. That later use needs its own legal assessment. Purpose rules, minimisation, confidentiality, applicable approvals and the relevant opt-out regime remain important. [SRC-171](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-171), [SRC-005](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-005), [SRC-026](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/sources/index.md#src-026) Continue to [information law](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/topics/information-law/index.md) for those conditions, the [requirements table](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/digital-requirements/index.md) for a named digital duty, or the [national comparison](https://uk-digital-healthcare-legal-requirements.pages.dev/comparison/index.md) for the relevant legal system.