Data-driven healthcare is “already taking shape” evidenced by real-world use cases delivered by the iCARE Secure Data Environment, says sector leader at event.
Digital Healthcare leaders came together at an event on driving digital healthcare innovation through research and collaboration with partners iCARE, NWL ICB and Accenture hosted by Snowflake in January 2025.
iCARE is a Secure Data Environment and digital research facility sitting across Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Erik Mayer, Director of iCARE, presented real-world use cases at the Royal Society of Medicine venue.
He explained that by linking various data sources, including analysis of unstructured data in electronic patient records from Imperial and North West London Whole Systems Intergrated Care (WSIC), data analysis within iCARE SDE can provide insights that lead to solutions for improved decision making, efficiently allocated resources, and better patient centred care.
“A healthcare system where data is the driving force behind better patient care, new and/or improved treatments, and more effective resource allocation is not a distant vision but a reality already taking shape, as shown by the remarkable journey of the North West London (NWL) located iCARE SDE”, Andreas Haimböck-Tichy, Managing Director for Healthcare at Accenture UK, wrote about the event on social media.
Collaboration is central to data-driven innovation, and iCARE emphasised their partnerships with Accenture and Snowflake as an important driving force. However, healthcare solutions would be impossible without the input and uptake of clinicians, academics and data scientists. The iCARE Secure Data Environment hosts Imperial healthcare NHS data and Whole Systems integrated Care (WSIC) data, both providing researchers with unprecedented access to deidentified linked healthcare data from and North West London.
Ben Glampson, iCARE Deputy Director, said “over the last few years we worked closely with NHS and commercial partners to develop the iCARE SDE into a fantastic resource delivering across multiple use cases; it provides us with the ability to evaluate digital and non-digital healthcare interventions in close the real time which is something we have not had at this scale before ”
Guests agreed that although digital healthcare holds great promise, the process of accessing data can be complex, and must be simplified, an area the iCARE SDE is actively contributing to. Leaders also need to champion a culture change toward collaboration and innovation to remove perceived risk and barriers for research.
Snowflake stated that they were “pleased to host a who’s who list of influential thought leaders at a recent dinner at the Royal Society of Medicine. It was an evening full of intelligent and thought-provoking insights into how research can deliver real-word evidence and support improvements in patient outcomes, using industry partners like Accenture to deliver scalable research and population health solutions”.
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iCARE is a digital research facility in partnership with Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, located at the Digital Collaboration Space within Paddington Life Sciences. Our mission is to facilitate safe access to data within a secure data environment to advance healthcare solutions with use of care data from Northwest London. iCARE contributes to the One London initiative (NHS England Sub National Secure Data Environment programme) and the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).
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