▶️Theme Intro | Secondary Use of Healthcare Data

Unlocking the Potential of Healthcare Data:
Improving Care, Empowering Patients, and Driving Innovation.

In this week’s episode of the theme intro series, we dive deeper into the world of healthcare data, and more specifically its secondary use, the  practice of utilizing patient health information, beyond its primary purpose, to improve care delivery, enhance patient experiences, and drive better outcomes, encompassing various data sources such as electronic health records (EHRs), medical imaging, and patient-generated data.

In recent years, the amount of data generated in the healthcare sector has grown exponentially. Due to this exponential growth, advances in technology, and a greater focus on evidence-based medicine, the demand for secondary use of healthcare data is currently growing. 

Patients and healthcare providers are increasingly recognizing the potential benefits of secondary use of healthcare data. 

By harnessing patient data, healthcare providers can gain a holistic view of a patient’s health history, leading to better diagnoses, treatment plans, and care coordination.

By leveraging patient-generated data, individuals can actively participate in their care, make informed decisions, and monitor their health. 

However, several significant barriers still hinder the implementation of secondary use of healthcare data.  Privacy and data security concerns are significant challenges, as patients rightfully demand protection for their sensitive information. 

Another key challenge is the fragmented nature of healthcare data, the lack of interoperability and standardization across the healthcare system. Integrating data from disparate sources and ensuring seamless data exchange remains a technical challenge. 

The topics presented to the participants of Hack Healthcare aim each at reducing some of these barriers:

1. Roche will aim to assemble a realistic picture of current and future demand for ophthalmological treatments, maximize current capacity, and start growing the treatment capacity to meet future demand.

2. The Belgian Health Data Agency will target the empowerment of data-hungry patients to get an overview of all sources of their own healthcare data

3. Esperity will focus on capturing quality of life data across multiple therapeutic areas, link them to clinical outcomes, and provide policymakers with a more comprehensive picture of effectiveness of new technology, interventions or medicines

4. The European Association for the Study of Obesity will explore how to leverage hospital electronic medical records to effectively document the data gathered for each individual obesity patient, help them understand how to use the data to guide, or to better follow, their own journey, and to trigger them to share their data for the benefit of others

The potential benefits of removing or reducing these barriers are enormous.

Patients gain greater control over their health by actively participating in shared decision-making processes. Empowered with access to their own health information, individuals can play a more informed role in managing their well-being and engaging in preventive care. This patient-centric approach fosters trust, strengthens the patient-provider relationship, and ultimately leads to improved health outcomes.

The secondary use of healthcare data offers therefore enormous potential to transform patient care and drive innovation in the healthcare industry and by addressing barriers which block its full implementation,  we can unlock the full potential of healthcare data and transform patient experiences, improve outcomes, and enhance the overall healthcare ecosystem.