"Our reason for reviewing birth certificates, however, was not any particular case but a general pattern of incorrect birth data being submitted in applications of this kind".
The sensitive nature of data being submitted by users on a platform like Grace, though, means many people are likely to be uneasy about their data being made accessible.
Many applications must also police users to some extent, to ensure the data being submitted are accurate.
The pressure to get up the ladder has also pushed some universities into trying to bend the rules, says Mr Sowter, with incorrect data being submitted.
Mortality figures are risk-adjusted, which means they take into account factors that could increase the likelihood of death, but even so their accuracy does depend on all the data being submitted properly.
Given the transparency that public reporting of the HSMR generates, a greater focus was placed on the completeness as well as the accuracy of the data being submitted.
