Policy implications of big data in the health sector

At the institutional level, the analysis of electronic health records may greatly expand the capacity to generate new knowledge by creating an observational evidence base to help resolve clinical questions.1 Analysis of big data is already proving critical in building accurate models of disease progression and providing personalized medicine in clinical practice. Big-data approaches Despite increasing awareness of the benefits of big data and the related methodological and technological advances that are being made, many countries appear to be slow in adopting approaches based on such data.6 The reasons may include gaps in funding, leadership and technical expertise and competing priorities within the health system.7 Many governments are still considering appropriate policy options. In 2015, according to the World Health Organization's Global Observatory for eHealth, only 21 (17%) of the 125 Member States surveyed reported having a policy or strategy regulating the use of big data in their health sectors.8 Policy directions Any government that adopts big-data methods and technologies in the health sector will need to establish proactive and durable policies to protect the health data of individuals, i.e. in terms of confidentiality, privacy and security, tackle the probable pressure for the commercialization of the data and promote the interoperability and use of the data for the public good. [...]access requires a comprehensive framework for data governance that defines the conditions of data access, including appropriate safeguards, the responsibilities and roles of data users and the principles of benefit sharing.9 In the past, such frameworks generally placed most ethical control of data use at the point of data generation, i.e. via the collection of informed consent from patients or care providers.