NHS Digital, which runs the country’s healthcare IT systems, claims the centralised database is needed because the current system used by GP surgeries, known as General Practice Extraction, is out-dated at over 10 years old.The NHS Digital site claims that this information will be used to "decide what new health and care services are required in a local area, informs clinical guidance and policy, and supports researching and developing cures for serious illnesses, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer."It added that the information could be shared with university researchers, hospital researchers, medical royal college and pharmaceutical companies researching new treatments.This means that records will be used for research and.