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Clinical Informatics and Health Outcomes Research Group (CIHORG)

Data from over 2000 general practices

Produces weekly reports on communicable and respiratory diseases

A composite medical technology image featuring a doctor's hands holding a digital tablet in the foreground. The background includes overlaid graphics of molecular structures, pills, a heartbeat line, and other scientific symbols, all in shades of blue and white, creating a futuristic healthcare concept.


The Clinical Informatics and Health Outcomes Research Group (CIHORG) is the home of the Oxford-Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research and Surveillance Centre (RSC), one of the world oldest sentinel networks as well as involved in a wide range of observational and interventional research. 

The RSC has been involved in the sentinel surveillance of respiratory disease, including influenza and COVID-19, for over 50 years.   It is a long standing collaboration between the RCGP and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).  The scale of the RSC and it capabilities have expanded considerably since 2013, and described in the RSC’s 2023-2024 protocol and recent cohort profile.  The lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic included the importance of our network recording high quality data, linking primary care data to virology and other data sources, and providing rapid data access, if we are to be ready for the next. 

The RSC collected pseudonymised data from 2,000 general practice network members and is used for disease surveillance and research. CIHORG has direct links to the RSC member practices who record high quality data, collect virology, serology and other samples, and recruit practices into research projects.

 CIHORG is led by: Simon de Lusignan – Professor of Primary Care & Clinical Informatics, who can be contacted via Zahn Gowar.  Our chief statistician is Mark Joy.

CIHORG is organised into two theme groups:

Surveillance and infectious disease epidemiology, led by Uy Hoang,  with project management provided by Karina O’Neill and Dominic Dunn (laboratory links).

Cardiometabolic research is lead by Jose Ordonez-Mena, with project management  provided by Filipa Ferreira.

Current Projects

Current projects in addition to disease surveillance include:

Contact us

Email us: 

simon.delusignanpa@phc.ox.ac.uk

Gibson Building, Radcliffe Observatory,

Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6GG

Map

Our Team

Trials and Prospective Studies

Current and previous studies

Trials and Prospective Studies

Weekly communicable and respiratory disease report

 (via RCGP)

Weekly reports

Surveillance

Research and surveillance centre

Surveillance

RCGP RSC virology practices dashboard

RCGP RSC virology practices sampling and detection of influenza and other monitored viruses.

View dashboard

Latest publications

Latest News

female gp with patient explaining a prescription

Academic leaders respond to Medical Research Council call for urgent action on GP research workforce

UK academics call for urgent action to protect the academic GP workforce as government commits £29bn to shift NHS care from hospitals to community. New recommendations aim to safeguard world-leading primary care research.

Mature chemist with a prescription searching right medicine on shelves in pharmacy. Senior female pharmacist holding prescription checking medicine in pharmacy.

New study reveals wide variation in how long repeat prescriptions last across England

New research from the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science examined the length of repeat prescriptions for long-term conditions across England. Without any national guidance, the length and frequency of prescriptions for five commonly treated long-term conditions varies widely, raising important questions about how to balance safety, convenience, cost and patient experience in repeat prescribing.

How General Practices adapted - and re-adapted - to remote care after the pandemic

The almost overnight switch to remote GP appointments was expected to be a temporary measure in the early days of the pandemic, yet most surgeries are now using some level of hybrid care. New research from the Remote by Default 2 study explores how GP practices have engaged with and adapted to digital care, and how policymakers can best support GPs and the communities they serve.