The NHS faces a number of challenges with regards to managing patient flow and recovering elective waiting lists. Timely data to support these pressures is crucial.

The Faster Data Flows Programme (FDF) has been introduced with the primary goal to implement an automated granular daily data collection, to support recovery and with this provide the NHS with a modern data architecture that enables timely, high quality data to be used to support decision making.

The FDF Programme has produced the Healthcare Operational Data Flows (HODF): Acute Data Set which provides the definitions for data to provide an automated patient-based daily data collection. The HODF: Acute Data Set will support NHS delivery plans for the recovery of elective care and emergency and urgent care in relation to recovering NHS waiting lists, care co-ordination, and the improvement of managing patient flows through the health and social care system.

Under the Healthcare Operational Data Flows: Acute Information Standard providers are required to set up a daily data flow of patient level data via a secure upload method to the NHS England CSU Regional Processing Centre. This will be processed and pseudonymised to be flown into NHS England's Data Platform.

Healthcare Operational Data Flows for acute personal data is a daily data collection, currently with no end date. The regular daily flow shall replace the Acute Pilot flow, commencing 1 June 2024, with submitters expected to be fully compliant with the HODF Acute Data Provision Notice and HODF Acute Technical Data Specification by Winter 2024.