65 people attended the 3rd HDLG meeting which was held remotely on Microsoft Teams on 7th April 2022. A full list of those in attendance can be found at the end of this document. (Apologies: Muiris O’Connor)
Paul Morrin and Alan Cahill opened the meeting and welcomed members to this online Liaison Group meeting.
Peter presented an overview of the health information bill relating to the background of the bill, why action is necessary, health information as a valuable strategic asset and why legislation is a necessary part of the solution. The purpose of the legislation is to “provide the necessary framework to underpin a fit for purpose national health information system which will support a modern care centred information driven health service.” He talked about specifics of the bill, governance and structural supports, EU information developments, national and European policy agenda, the benefits of a purposeful and coordinated health information ecosystem and next steps.
John presented on the OECD/Eurostat/WHO Joint Questionnaire which is conducted each January. The overall objective of the Joint Questionnaire is to provide internationally comparable data on key non-monetary aspects of health care systems. The modules in the questionnaire relate to 1) Health Employment, 2) Workforce migration, 3) Physical resources, 4) Hospital Activities, 5) Eurostat-only module.
Michael discussed the upcoming two separate Health Information Systems (HIS) Assessments. TEHDAS relates to HIS generally, while PHIRI relates to HIS for COVID-19. He discussed the different aims of the HIS assessments, the expectations from them and asked the group for interest in taking part in interviews for PHIRI and TEHDAS.
Dr Teresa Maguire and Dr Caitriona Creely discussed the sources of all types of health data, public health data in the context of the NHS. They talked about health services research and implementation science, the applications for Big Data in Healthcare and the three core conditions of public support for sharing administrative data for research, 1) public interest, 2) privacy and security 3) trust and transparency. Next, they outlined the HRB strategy actions, the role of the HRB data group and various health data initiatives – TEHDAS, DASSL and Genomics data for healthcare and research.
Deirdre gave an overview of the HIPE dataset in relation to data collection, coding schemes, reviews of HIPE, the HIPE Governance Group and more recent variables added. Fiachra discussed the HIPE response to COVID-19 Pandemic and the impact of COVID-19 on HIPE, including the new coding and data processes implemented in this time.
Paul presented a discussion on why we must work together to unleash the potential of our data ecosystem. He stressed the need to strategically plan our path forward to tackle the challenges and opportunities in the evolving Irish Data Ecosystem. As a community we are gathering more and more administrative data sources which have the potential to provide evidence and useful insights into particular policy questions. He outlined recent work done in the CSO related to linked administrative data, e.g. IPEADS – Irish Population Estimates from Administrative Data Sources. Some key takeaways were that many of the building blocks are in place, more data analytics required to meet the growing needs. Data linkage and integration is essential to achieving better analysis for policy and decision making. Finally, he discussed data stewardship and how it represents the ethical and responsible creation, collection, management, use and reuse of data.
Note: All slides have been circulated to Members of the Group upon request.
1. Organise next meeting
Paul Morrin, CSO
Alan Cahill, Department of Heath
Kieran Culhane, CSO
Steven Conroy, CSO
Michael Courtney, Department of Heath
Loretto Grogan, HSE
Brendan Walsh, ESRI
Eimear Leahy, HSA
Dan Dowling, Department of Heath
Elizabeth McCrohan, Department of Heath
Brid Moran, NOCA
Ronan O’Kelly, Department of Heath
Philip Flanagan, HSE
Éanna Ó Lochlainn, PSI
Deirdre Ward, Department of Heath
Laurann Matsumoto, HSE
Terri Raftery, NMBI
Elaine O’Sullivan, CSO
Paul Kavanagh, HSE
Sarah Daly, PTR
Janet O’Farrell, RCPI
Eileen Treacy,
Mick Fitzpatrick, IEHG
Claire Collins, ICGP
Caitriona Creely, HRB
Bernadette Rock, MCIRL
Deirdre Murphy, HPO
Pauline White, Department of Heath
Darragh Turner, Department of Heath
Lucie Heseltine, MCIRL
Joanne George, HIA
Jhn Dunne, CSO
Aideen Sheehan, Public Health
Cathy Keany, HSE
Fionnola Kelly, RCSI
Derek McCormack, HSE
Keith Comiskey, Department of Heath
Teresa Maguire, HRB
Oonagh Ward, HRB
Lois O’Connor, HPSC
Collette Tully, RCSI
Stephen McDonagh, CSO
Fiachra Bane, HSE
Peter Lennon, Department of Heath
Martina Curran, HSE
Rhona Corcoran, HSE
John Heslin, Department of Heath
Trish King, HSE
Emmet Carolan, HSE
Niall Halliday, RCSI
Roisin O’Neill, Department of Heath
Sandra Nolan, IEHG
Dermot Corcoran, Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Vincent Kennedy, Department of Heath
Borg Marika, Health Policy
Howard Johnson, Department of Heath
Ana Terres, HSE
Patricia Garvey
Barbara Foley
Virpi Lunch
Rachel Flynn
Mel Khandanian
Bernadette Dempsey