POST publishes 20 to 30 POST notes (short briefing notes) each year, along with occasional longer reports. They focus on current science and technology issues and aim to anticipate policy implications for parliamentarians. Specifically, Health Analytics was invited to participate in market research on “Big Data and Public Health”. This landmark study formed part of a larger suite of work around “big data”, investigating the opportunities and challenges it presents in fields such as business, healthcare, education, transport, energy, and crime and security.
Drawing a balance between maximising the potential utility of data and protecting personal privacy and civil rights, ensuring fairness and preventing discrimination raises difficult questions. Last week at Portcullis House in Westminster, Mr Adam Afriyie MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, chaired a panel discussion with experts from academia, government, industry and the third sector to debate where this balance should be drawn and different means of achieving it, based on issues raised by POST’s big data work and questions from the audience. The event was timed to coincide with the launch of the new Information Age gallery at the Science Museum, which was opened by the Queen on Friday 24 October 2014.
Health Analytics is proud to support and contribute to research that promotes greater understanding of how the availability and analysis of large datasets can benefit individuals and society. Health Analytics co-founders, Stuart Bond and Phil Wigglesworth, add: “All aspects of Health Analytics software are Information Governance Compliant and all data is stored in a Government Safe Haven. We take data protection very seriously, and this is reflected in our product design, software development and ongoing data management”.
Dowload the POST note on “Big Data and Public Health” here.
About POST – Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (www.parliament.uk/post)
POST is Parliament's in-house source of independent, balanced and accessible analysis of public policy issues related to science and technology. POST's aim is to help parliamentarians examine science and technology issues effectively. By writing briefings, organising events and assisting Select Committees, POST have supported parliamentarians in their decision-making since 1989.
POSTnotes and reports are available from the Research Briefings section of the parliamentary web site, along with briefings from the Libraries of both Houses. This website also contains a directory of POSTnotes and longer reports, searchable by title.
About Health Analytics (www.health-analytics.co.uk)
Health Analytics joins data from primary, secondary and community sources, to provide an effective basis for managing patient care across service boundaries. This connected information enables commissioners to review activity and trends, leading to significant improvements in healthcare outcomes.
Health Analytics software uses clinical and financial information to help commissioners make more informed decisions about healthcare thus improving patient outcomes.
- The speed, flexibility and attention to detail that Health Analytics provides means GPs and practice managers can get an accurate overview of their patients' needs at the touch of a button.
- Health Analytics delivers the ability to see comparative statistics across neighbouring practices, track emerging trends and review financial spend. A clear up to date picture of the health landscape is essential to the efficient running of CCGs.
- This power to analyse and then co-ordinate appropriate health solutions across whole boroughs and sectors leads to more effective use of resources and healthier patients.
Health Analytics is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and is still owned and managed by its original founders. The company is self-funded and has grown revenues and profits organically and consistently every year since its inception.
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For more information, please contact Stuart Bond or Phil Wigglesworth at Health Analytics.
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