Most people today agree that data is the new oil of the digital economy. Unlike scarce natural resources, data has the appealing attributes of public goods.
by Tino Martí
Despite Security Threats, Data Continues to Save Lives
Last week, any fears we had about our personal health data being safe were intensified when the records of tens of thousands of psychotherapy patients in Finland were stolen. As if this wasn’t enough to increase our anxiety, these confidential records were used to blackmail over 40,000 patients.
So, after this, should I still be sharing my data?
by Nicola Davies
Highlights from our October public events: tweet chat and webinar
October was a busy month for the Data Saves Lives (DSL) initiative, as we held two live events to raise awareness of different issues affecting the best practice use of health data with insights from a variety of expert and high-profile panellists.
For those of you who weren’t able to join our live chat on Twitter or our webinar event, it’s not too late to catch up on the highlights…
The future of healthcare: is it all about data?
Algorithms, AI, electronic health records, sensors, apps, robotics and data registries. A lot of new buzzwords have become commonplace over the last couple of years. One of the most important and often discussed technical terms are ‘data’ and ‘data sharing’. I once heard the phrase, ‘Data is the new oil’ in terms of fueling advances. Sound scary?
by Birgit Bauer
Individual decisions about our data can make meaningful differences to healthcare in the era of COVID-19
Data Saves Lives First Webinar: Addressing the unanswered questions
On 1 July 2020, Data Saves Lives held its first webinar titled ‘All About Data Saves Lives.’ The webinar focused on explaining the health data challenge that DSL aims to tackle, as well as the DSL mission, main activities and how the initiative is organised and governed. At the end of the webinar, attendees had the opportunity to ask the panel of speakers questions. Time did not permit us to address all of the questions posed during the webinar. In this blog, you can find our answers to those unanswered questions.
All About ‘Data Saves Lives’: Questions and Answers from our first public webinar!
Follow the Science, Follow the Data: the importance of using real-time data to respond to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer
Earlier in the year, a casual conversation with a colleague in Croatia uncovered a controversial viewpoint. He said that many of his patients and members of the public were more afraid of a COVID-19 diagnosis than a cancer diagnosis. I’d heard similar rumblings from colleagues in the UK, but there were no data to say whether this was true or not. So, we set about collecting data that would give us a precise insight into the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services and cancer patients in the UK.
by Prof. Mark Lawler