TABLE OF CONTENTS


Introduction

Ardens Manager facilitates secure data sharing among GP practices, PCNs, Federations, and ICBs, enabling effective benchmarking and aggregation of activity. These functionalities are governed by two key components: Data Sharing Contracts and Data Sharing Agreements.


Data Sharing Contracts

When creating a contract on Ardens Manager, various roles are assigned to users or organisations.    

 

Data Sharing Contracts define the roles and data access permissions for organisations involved in a contract managed within Ardens Manager.

  • Authority (e.g., NHS England, ICBs): Responsible for writing contract specifications and defining reports for payment and monitoring. They can view aggregated data from provider groups and/or entire data sets from provider organisations.
  • Provider Organisations (e.g., GP Practices): Responsible for delivering a contract by themselves. They can only be named on a contract once, and can view their entire data set only.
  • Managed on Ardens Manager: If the authority organisation is either not active on Ardens Manager or does not maintain content on the contract themselves, the contract can be managed on Ardens Manager by another organisation. This means that the contract will be marked as UNOFFICIAL. If the authority organisation wishes to maintain the contracts themselves on Ardens Manager, they can claim the contract off the organisation who is managing the contract. The authority can then make the contract official if they wish, meaning that the contract on Ardens Manager officially replaces any other form of the contract. The managed on Ardens Manager organisation can only see the entire aggregation of the contract data and cannot break down the data.

 

By accepting the invitation to the contract they consent to sharing their data as per the summary below. Additionally data sharing capabilities can be configured within these contracts to allow for more granular data access.

Below is some examples for setups for contract.

Contract Name
Authority
Provider Organisations
Managed on Ardens Manager
QOF
NHS England
GP Practices
Ardens
Network Contract DES
NHS England
-
Ardens
SMI Health Check
NHS England
GP Practices
Ardens
Local Commissioned Services (LCS)
ICB
GP Practices
-


Data Sharing Agreements

Data Sharing Agreements enable benchmarking and aggregation of activity across multiple organisations. These agreements specify the level of data access each organisation has within a group.


Access Levels:

  • Can view entire data set: Users can see the entire dataset of every organisation within the group.
  • Can view aggregated data only: Organisations can only view the aggregated data for the entire group and cannot view any organisational-level data.
  • Cannot view data set: Organisations can only view their own data and cannot view any group data.


Groups can also be set up so that organisations can view aggregations of any connected groups within the group. For example, an ICB can view its connected PCN’s aggregate group data. Please note - groups will not be able to see patient-level data.


Setting Up Data Sharing Agreements

  1. Group Setup Request: Complete the group setup request form to initiate the creation of a group.
  2. Invitation to Join Group: Once the group is set up, all organisations will receive an invitation to join the group. This invitation will contain information about the lead organisation, other member organisations, reporting access levels, and the data sharing agreement.
  3. Accepting the Invitation: Organisations must accept the invitation to join the group and agree to the data sharing terms specified in the agreement.

 

Groups can also be setup so that organisations can view aggregations of any connected groups within the group. For example, a ICB can view its connected PCN’s aggregate group data.


ICB Group
Lead Organisation (ICB)
  • Can view group aggregate data
  • Can view connected PCN aggregate data
Member Organisations (GP Practices)
  • Can view group aggregate data
  • Can view connected PCN aggregate data
 
PCN Group
Lead Organisation (PCN)
  • Can view entire data set
Member Organisations (GP Practices)
  • Can view entire data set
 
Federation Group
Lead Organisation (Federation)
  • Can view entire data set
  • Can view connected PCN aggregate data
Member Organisations (GP Practices)
  • Can view group aggregate data
  • Can view connected PCN aggregate data

 

If you require any further assistance on the process above, please contact the Ardens Manager Support Team on: support-manager@ardens.org.uk