Data operating environment: Enabling and extending the use of health data

This WP aims to improve the health data management and to develop the security of the computing environment for researchers. The wider goal is to increase the use of data in the decision making and development of social and health services, and to support the use of knowledge-based management among the health care service providers and organizers. One of the identified bottlenecks in the HCT services is the access to health data. The confidentiality of personal health data challenges the need for development of treatment solutions and health care services. The limited health care resources should be targeted with the help of knowledge and scientific research on best practices. Value-based decision making in social and health care requires real world evidence about individual lifestyles, symptoms, diagnoses, treatments and their results. To utilize individual health data for research purposes, data must be collected, saved and analyzed in a secure computing environment. This means strong authentication of the data user, cryptographic means to provide patient anonymity and statistical disclosure control with various methods. Auria Clinical Informatics is providing these services in co-operation with Findata following the new legislation of the secondary use of health and social data. However, many information service processes are presently in the development phase limiting the possibilities of data utilization.

The concrete actions of this WP are:

1) Research, evaluation and testing of statistical disclosure control by statistical mathematicians to develop data protection

2) Development of pseudonymization keys based on strong cryptographic bijection.

The security of the operating environment will be developed by these core tasks in order to serve better the external data requests.