NHS-R Community - A collaborative space to discuss and develop data solutions

I’ve been working in the Data Analytics Learning Laboratory (DALL) here at the NHSBSA for about four years now, after completing an MSc in Data Science. I enjoy the challenging and engaging nature of the work.

Some of the key data assets of the NHSBSA, such as prescriptions, dental and jobs data, provide a great opportunity to use and develop data science methods and techniques. It is the size and complexity of such data that leads analysts to learn and use new tools, aside from traditional ones such as Excel. While SQL is necessary for anyone working closely with a database, programming languages such as R and Python have become popular tools to conduct more complex analyses.

Within the NHS, there is a large number of analysts that use R, which has led to the creation of the NHS-R Community. The NHS-R Community is made up of members across multiple NHS organisations. It is a place where they share their experiences and expertise, offer training possibilities, and provide a space for discussing and developing solutions to NHS and care sector challenges. Once a year, the NHS-R Community holds a?conference?where its members can meet in person, to share their work and outcomes.

I will be attending the conference this year on behalf of the DALL team within the NHSBSA, to present our work on developing an address matching package in R. Our mission in the DALL is to deliver new insights from data through innovation, experimentation and collaboration with data. The creation of the address matching package was very much in line with this, as it enabled us to conduct the first ever prescription form-level analysis of?care home prescribing.

I’m looking forward to the NHS-R Conference not only to share the work DALL have done, but also to connect with and learn from other NHS analysts, with a view towards future collaboration. The opportunity for NHS analysts to come together in person, to connect and learn from each other, through events such as the annual NHS-R conference, is a welcome time to reflect upon and consolidate the hard work we have done throughout the year.

Adnan Shroufi is speaking on Day 2 of the NHS-R?Community Conference?at Edgbaston Stadium on the 17th November 2022, available to attend in person or online for members of the NHS-R Community.

Interested in joining the Data Science team? Visit our jobs page to see our latest vacancies:?https://jobs.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/