Tackling health inequalities : socio-demographic data could play a bigger role

Health inequalities are a cause for significant concern across the globe; in the UK, the gap in disability-free life expectancy between the richest and poorest is around 17 years. General practitioners (GPs) have an important role to play in tackling inequalities, through delivering services that meet the needs of their local population, and engaging in preventative work, not just with patients who regularly consult but also with harder to reach groups. If GPs are to be able to play this role to the full, they need to understand the characteristics and needs of their local populations. The recent King’s Fund report on tackling inequalities in general practice argues that ‘Good clinical practice involves GPs being aware of key demographic data pertinent to health inequalities and actively seeking to address these when opportunities arise’. Electronic patient records held by practices are potentially a valuable source of socio-demographic data about patient populations. With a growing recognition of the importance of data to drive improvement, there have been a number of systems developed in the UK that collate and display these data alongside other indicators, such as patient experience and clinical outcomes, in ways that are easy to access and use. The National General Practice Profiles (NGPPs), compiled by the Public Health Observatories are a good example of this, enabling data to be viewed at individual practice or clinical commissioning group level.