Latest News
Linking and using Health and Social Care data in Scotland
Attendees from a broad range of stakeholders met at the Edinburgh centre on 22 May 2014 to discuss progress with linking health and social care data. Significant challenges remain, particularly in terms of agreeing information governance requirements, data access processes, understanding stakeholders’ analytic needs and working with large volumes of unstructured textual data.
It was proposed to set up a professional network and website, together with training for those working in this field. The meeting steering group will progress these steps over the next few months.
Research - Asprin use and cancer
Researchers led by Professor Colin McCowan at Glasgow University have published a report in the British Journal of Cancer which showed that low-dose aspirin may nearly halve the risk of death in women diagnosed with breast cancer. The report was also covered in The Guardian.
Grampian Renal Observatory – a platform for improving renal care
Researchers at the University of Aberdeen have demonstrated how increased digital capture of data and Safe Haven architecture to link data from different sources to create bespoke study datasets provides a valuable approach to improve health surveillance, service planning and patient care. Chronic kidney disease (CKD), affects 10% of the adult population, especially those over 65 years. With substantial uncertainty about its significance to health, who is at greatest risk and how best to optimise care, CKD makes an excellent model for assessing the feasibility and showcasing the potential benefits of linking health records in Scotland.
This GLOMMS study extracted relevant clinical records to create a research platform, from which bespoke linked study-specific datasets could be constructed. The ability to undertake data linkage for health research, and the governance infrastructure provided by Safe Havens, enabled the research team to participate as one of only three UK centres in an international CKD epidemiology meta-analysis, leading to developments of new clinical trial endpoints. The team has also been approached by a range of potential partners for further research programmes.
Save the date I
An Industry Forum is to be held in London on 16 December 2014 to bring together academic and NHS health Informatics researchers from the Farr Institute and leaders in the use of real-world evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry. The aim is to help deepen and expand already established links and help the UK attract research investment from global pharmaceutical companies.
A programme and details on how to register will be circulated in early September. Meantime, if you have any queries please contact Ivan Dennie, ABPI Events Manager (idennie@abpi.org.uk).
Save the date II
The Digital Health Assembly in Cardiff, 10-12 February 2015 welcomes digital health professionals from around the world to accelerate developments in ehealth through open innovation: www.digitalhealthassembly.com.
Save the date III
In August 2015 the Farr Institute shall be hosting our first International Conference in St Andrews. This will build on the successful conferences under the auspices of SHIP attracting delegates from across the world including New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada and Europe.
The conference is designed for researchers, practitioners and policy makers interested in record linkage and the use of routine health data in their research. During the three days we will have a variety of plenary sessions, workshops and keynote speakers as well as social networking opportunities. For further information please email farrscotland-administration@dundee.ac.uk.
Other Events
- Farr Institute International Advisory Board, 15 December 2014, London.
- Joint Meeting with MRC Biomedical informatics Centres, 29-30 January 2015
In person
We caught up with Dr Samantha Alvarez-Madrazo, University of Strathclyde Research Fellow.
What’s your role in Farr? As part of the Farr@Scotland Pharmacoepidemiology programme, my colleagues and I are looking at three groups of recently approved drugs to see how they are being used in clinical practice and to gain a better understanding of their safety and effectiveness. We also want to know how these drugs impact not just patients’ health but also their social activities. |  |
We are interested in two groups of drugs which are being used for patients with cardiovascular diseases (new oral anticoagulants and new antiplatelets). The third group of drugs is being used for patients with severe inflammatory disease. In this project we will be focusing in patients with rheumatoid arthritis using the new drugs called tumour necrosis alpha inhibitors.
How do you find working under the Farr umbrella?
Right from my first meeting with the team, it felt the Institute has been designed with care whilst thinking about the different aspects required to improve research with electronic records: the governance, the IT, the public engagement, the research, the network, the administrative support, the infrastructure. I think we are putting the right ingredients together.
Being part of the Farr Scotland and Farr Pharmacoepidemiology groups has allowed me to see there are already significant benefits as the most experienced teams are sharing intelligence fulfilling all the governance requirements for data access. Our conversations are catalytic of many research projects that could be game-changers.
New appointments
Paul Martin moves from Edinburgh University to join the Robertson Centre for Biostatistics to work on improving use of routinely collected clinical data in trials and subsequent long term follow up. Paul comes from the University of Edinburgh and will be working with Prof Colin McCowan and Prof Ian Ford.
For more details, visit the Farr Institute @ Scotland website.