A research team at Flinders University will begin building what could be Australia’s first integrated and AI-driven repository of public health and clinical data for public health surveillance and emergency response.
The data platform, called SMART-PH (Digitizing Information for Practice in Public Health), will act as a common digital infrastructure that enables near real-time collaboration and communication between public health authorities, healthcare institutions and laboratories.
From July, researchers will create a public health data lake that will then initially be integrated with SA Health’s Digital Analytics Platform. The South Australia-based data platform reportedly has real-time advanced data linkage capabilities for all clinical data, including EHRs.
SMART-PH is supported by almost A$3 million ($2 million) in funding from the Medical Research Future Fund. The research team is focused on implementation and evaluation with South Australian partners between 2027 and 2029.
WHY IT MATTERS
Harnessing real-time, high-quality public health data is critical in planning and managing public health and health care, but data remains scattered across facilities, the Flinders researchers noted.
“Limited access to real-time, high-quality public health data creates barriers to effective planning and management of health care and public health issues, particularly in remote and rural regions,” said Courtney Ryder, research leader and Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Injury Studies at Flinders College of Medicine and Public Health.
Because AI has been proven to enable real-time access to public health data during the recent pandemic, the research team aims to leverage AI to develop a public health framework that will enable public health stakeholders to respond more efficiently, flexibly, and effectively.
They say AI has the potential to improve forecasting, planning and strategic decision-making in public health responses, as well as outbreak surveillance and detection.
THE BIG TREND
The The secure sharing and reuse of data and information across the health system is one of the four key objectives of the Australian Digital Health Blueprint for the next decade. Initiatives outlined to achieve this objective include the development of a national legislative framework for health information sharing across states and territories and the continued modernisation of My Health Record.
Accessible data and data that informs critical decision-making at individual, community and national levels is also the intended outcome the government’s updated National Digital Health Strategy 2023-2028. To achieve this goal, one of the priority actions is the use of health information for research and public health purposes.