My first experience with PRIMIS was as a data quality facilitator, working closely with GP practices across Guildford and Waverley. I supported practice teams to enhance the quality of their electronic patient records, drawing on the tools, training and guidance provided by PRIMIS to shape the approach.
One of the things I’ve always valued is seeing the longer-term impact of that work. It’s genuinely inspiring when we meet data quality facilitators we trained years ago and see the influential roles they have since taken on within the system. It’s a real reminder of how our work has built capability and confidence that continues to ripple out over time.
Here are a few reflections on our achievements over the past 25 years:
Our role in improving data quality in primary care
PRIMIS was set up in 2000 to help primary care teams use their data effectively. From the start, we focused on giving practices the tools, training, and confidence to make data work for them - laying the foundations of today’s data-driven NHS. Over those early years, we trained around 1,000 data quality facilitators, reaching 97% of primary care organisations and delivering over 11,500 training sessions. We also ran and analysed more than 21,000 query sets across 5,000+ GP practices, providing feedback that led to real improvements in everyday data quality. In doing so, we’ve strengthened the NHS’s ability to turn information into meaningful improvements for patient care.
National impact
PRIMIS has always supported major national initiatives. We’ve contributed to programmes like vaccination uptake, validated measures for the Quality and Outcomes Framework, and supported audits such as the National Diabetes Audit and CVDPrevent. Our goal has been consistent: making data clinically meaningful, simple to capture, and useful in everyday practice.
We’ve also shaped national standards and policy, helping define coding guidance and data quality benchmarks, including leading the largest data quality review in the UK as part of the IM&T DES. During COVID-19, PRIMIS quickly standardised and interpreted data to support the vaccination programme, reporting on uptake and identifying high-risk patients. And as the NHS transitioned to SNOMED CT, we helped ensure national programmes continued smoothly.
Building a clinical informatics workforce
Over the years, we’ve blended clinical insight and data science to develop strong clinical informatics skills within our team. In doing so, we’ve helped build a workforce confident in navigating and shaping the digital landscape. By bridging the gap between frontline care and digital innovation, we ensure clinical decision support systems are not only technically sound but practical and relevant in real-world settings - a skill that has become one of our defining strengths.
Driving evidence-based care
Through better data quality and practical audit tools, PRIMIS helps clinicians, researchers, and policymakers generate actionable insights from electronic health records. For example, the GRASP-AF tool has been used by over 3,500 GP practices, playing a pivotal role in the largest review of direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) use in the UK and improving stroke prevention for patients with atrial fibrillation.
We’ve also supported high-profile research, helping translate findings into practice. The rollout of PINCER, a pharmacist-led programme to reduce serious medication errors, is one example where research has directly improved patient safety across the NHS. More recently, we’ve worked with partners to embed sophisticated clinical algorithms into GP IT systems, validating them with real-world data and adapting them for practical use.
Resilience and sustainability
PRIMIS is built for the long term. With decades of experience and deep expertise, we’ve grown alongside the NHS, remaining a trusted partner for GP practices, researchers, and policymakers.
PRIMIS today
Today, PRIMIS continues to support safer, more effective, and higher-quality primary care. Embedded within the University of Nottingham, we combine academic rigour with practical NHS support, nurturing a growing community of health informaticians and continuing to make data meaningful for patient care.