Britain's NHS to grant Palantir contractors 'unlimited access' to patient data, FT reports

May ⁠11 (Reuters) - Britain's state-run National Health Service (NHS) is ​granting staff from companies including Palantir "unlimited access" to identifiable patient data while working on its flagship ​National ‌Data Integration Tenant (NDIT)platform, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

NHS England has agreed to ⁠create an "admin" role granting non-staff "unlimited access" to the NDIT ⁠and identifiable patient data, the ​FT report said, citing an internal briefing note.

The NDIT is housed under the Federated Data Platform, which links disparate NHS datasets into a single system.

An NHS spokesperson ​said ‌Britain's health service has "strict policies" governing access to patient data and conducts regular audits to ensure compliance.

Any external access requires government security clearance and approval from a director-level official, the spokesperson added.

Palantir is legally designated as a "data processor", ​while its customers are "data controllers", meaning its software can process data only in line ‌with customer instructions, a spokesperson for the firm said.

Any other use would be illegal and "technically impossible" due to access ‌controls overseen by the NHS, the spokesperson added. Palantir won a 330 million pound ($448 million) contract to develop the NDIT in 2023. It has also secured contracts ​with Britain's Defence Ministry and Financial Conduct Authority, deals that have drawn scrutiny due to its ‌work with U.S. government defence agencies.

"There is currently considerable public interest and concern about how much access to patient data Palantir/Palantir staff have," the briefing note viewed ⁠by the ⁠FT said.

The note recommends a time-limited and regularly ‌reviewed cap on the number of external admins with access to the NDIT, it added.

Officials confirmed ​to the FT ​that the recommendation in the briefing note had been ‌accepted in recent weeks but said it would apply to only a small number of non-NHS staff.

Palantir Technologies