Information held on the PDS

The PDS only contains demographic details about a patient. No clinical or sensitive information is held on it.

PDS fields

Here are the fields involved and what each is for:

PDS field	Description of data
NHS Number	The unique patient identifier.
Patient name	Including any previous names, aliases and preferred name, e.g. Chris rather than Christopher.
Date of birth	The patient's date of birth. Get more information on new births and the PDS.
Place of birth	The patient's place of birth.
Additional birth information	The delivery time and birth order for multiple births.
Date of death	The patient's date of death. Get more information on recording deaths on the PDS.
Death notification status	Indicates a formal death certificate has been issued for the patient and the death has been registered.
Gender	Administrative gender.
Address	Includes main, temporary and correspondence addresses.
Alternative contacts	The patient's legal guardian, proxy, family/close contact.
Telecommunication contact details	Contact details such as telephone number, fax number and email address.
Preferred contact times	Patient's preferred contact times.
Preferred contact method	The patient's preferred contact method, e.g. telephone contact by proxy, no telephone contact, sign language required in face-to-face contact or minicom.
Preferred written communication format	Specialised patient contact requirements, e.g. large print, Braille, audio tape.
Preferred language	Information on patient's preferred language of communication.
Interpreter required	Indicates that the patient requires an interpreter.
NHS Care Record consent to share status	Indicates that the patient has agreed to share their health record.
Nominated dispensing contractor*	The patient's nominated dispensing contractor that could include a community pharmacy, dispensing appliance contractor and a dispensing doctor.
Reason for removal	Indicates that the patient is not registered with a GP.
Previous NHS contact indicator	Indicates that the patient confirms they have had previous NHS treatment. This allows the PDS National Back Office to check for a duplicate of a record.
Patient call-back consent status	Indicates that the patient is willing to be called back from a Choose & Book call-centre.
Shared secret	An encrypted password used to validate a patient's identity when contacted from a Choose & Book call-centre.
Sensitive record indicator	Indicates that either the record is not accessible to PDS users, or that the content of the record is being reviewed to ensure the data is correct.
Primary care	The GP Practice with whom the patient is registered.
Date of registration	The date the patient registered with the GP Practice.
Back office location	The back office location associated with the GP Practice where the patient is registered, used for the administration of primary care.
Serial change number	The mechanism for synchronising local and national records.
HealthSpace status	Indicates that the patient is registered to use HealthSpace.
NHAIS information	The PDS holds certain information to allow it to interact with the NHAIS system that administers primary care. This information is not routinely accessible by the NHS.

Information held on the PDS — NHS Connecting for Health

Information held on the PDS

PDS fields