University researchers get remote access to vast trove of Hong Kong health care data
- Access to the roughly 5 billion pieces of data, compiled over 25 years, had previously been available only at a government data laboratory
- Now dedicated rooms with secure connections to the data set will be established at three local universities
Local university researchers will soon be able to access a vast trove of government health care data from the comfort of their campuses following a move by authorities aimed at accelerating medical innovation in Hong Kong.
A total of 5 billion pieces of clinical data, culled from the records of all the city’s public hospitals over the past 25 years, have been made available since 2019 for academic researchers from Hong Kong’s eight government-funded universities at the Hospital Authority Data Collaboration Laboratory, now in Kowloon Bay.
But starting from later this month, three designated rooms will be set up at the University of Hong Kong, Chinese University and University of Science and Technology.
Researchers will be able to access the self-service big data platform on a computer in the dedicated room via a secured network connection.
The anonymised data on offer includes patients’ demographic characteristics, attendance records, clinical diagnoses, procedures, medications, and lab and radiology exam results. It can be used to inform data analytics, algorithms and research publications.