Importance of Data Linking Recognised at
Parliamentary Breakfast
1 December 2005
Brisbane, Australia
The importance of health data linking was recognised at CSIRO's third Science for Breakfast briefing for Parliamentarians in Canberra on 30 November 2005. The briefing, titled 'New Approaches to Fighting Cancer', was one of a series hosted by The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP, Minister for Education, Science and Training. The Minister and a range of MPs were introduced to the Preventative Health Flagship's collaborative research into colorectal (bowel) cancer by Professor Richard Head, the Director of CSIRO's Preventative Health Flagship.
The briefing included a presentation by Professor Finlay Macrae from the Department of Colorectal Medicine and Genetics at the Royal Melbourne Hospital of the findings from an ongoing collaborative project between the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the e-Health Research Centre, a joint venture between the CSIRO and Queensland Health. Professor Macrae emphasised the value of the role the e-Health Research Centre plays in the multidisciplinary team looking at colorectal cancer by enabling the effective analysis of data.
Science for Breakfast briefing
(Left to right) Prof Finlay Macrae, Prof Richard Head,
Prof Graeme Young and Minister Brendan Nelson
The e-Health Research Centre is developing a new tool - Health Data Integration (HDI) - which provides private and secure access to an integrated virtual data repository, enabling health data research and analysis on a larger scale than is possible on the individual data repositories alone.
"Yesterday I was able to present the findings derived from analysing these important Colorectal Cancer data sets using the Health Data Integration work at the Parliamentary Breakfast," said Professor Macrae. "The breakfast was an outstanding success in promoting the value and important outcomes of publicly-funded research, as exemplified by the Health Data Integration project."
The Royal Melbourne Hospital's Department of Gastroenterology has been collecting data on various aspects of Colorectal Cancer screening, testing and familial risk for the last 25 years. This year, the e-Health Research Centre applied its Health Data Integration solution to analyse the data in those data sets. The results demonstrated the efficacy of the faecal occult blood test (FOBT) for Colorectal Cancer screening.
"This research and development is vital for efforts to provide data for researchers to use, for clinical and health policy related research," Professor Macrae added. "We look forward to continuing our relationship with the e-Health Research Centre and to benefiting from the future research and development in the Health Data Integration project."
Fellow presenter Professor Graeme Young, a Flagship Fellow from Flinders University, described how research of this type could be translated into preventative measures by screening and early detection of cancer and pre-cancer signs.
For further information contact:
Gary Morgan
Chief Executive Officer
e-Health Research Centre
Mobile: 0412 177 780
Phone: 07 3024 1600
Email Gary Morgan
Media assistance:
Tom McGinness
CSIRO ICT Centre
Phone: 0419 419 210
Email Tom McGinness
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