Using Databricks in the NHS England Secure Data Environment
Getting started with Databricks in the NHS England Secure Data Environment (SDE).
Databricks is a collaborative analytics platform that supports SQL, Python, Scala and R languages for the analysis of big data in the cloud.
This guide is intended to help you get up and running using Databricks in the NHS England SDE. It provides guidance on:
- creating and using notebooks and clusters
- using Spark SQL and Python query tools with examples of an SQL and a Python cell
- writing efficient code to reduce the time it takes to run the code
- working collaboratively using shared folders and shared databases
- exporting and downloading analysis results, or code, for publication or onward use
- using widgets to allow you to control parameters in your notebooks and dashboards
In addition to this guidance, we recommend users wishing to learn more about using Databricks familiarise themselves with the Databricks Documentation website for further information.
Contact us
For technical issues, including accessing the SDE, contact the National Service Desk on [email protected] or by phoning 0300 303 5035.
For general queries and data-related issues, contact [email protected].
Drop-in sessions
SDE users are invited to attend drop-in sessions with our data specialists for support with using the SDE environment and Databricks.
Drop-in sessions occur every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 11am GMT (excluding public holidays) via Microsoft Teams. Invites are sent with your SDE account activation email. Alternatively, contact [email protected] for more information.
Last edited: 15 March 2024 12:37 pm