A new digital platform which will accelerate the discovery of new treatments and more personalised care for patients is being tested by clinicians and researchers at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) and the University of Cambridge.
The first study to test the platform will look at how large amounts of depersonalised patient data can support decisions about the way that patients with heart failure are managed, such as identifying those at risk of deterioration and avoiding preventable re-admission to hospital.
Heart failure is a serious condition with major implications. This research is about understanding the value of an electronic platform which uses population level data in order to improve our understanding of why patients deteriorate, and how we can personalise treatment.
Addenbrooke’s Consultant Cardiologist Dr Paul Cacciottolo
Paul is leading the trial, together with Professor Angela Wood from the University of Cambridge.
“We know that patients who are seen by specialist services have better outcomes, so if we can identify heart failure patients sooner then we can signpost them to these specialist services earlier.
“If successful, there is potential for this approach to have far-reaching benefits and to inform new models of care in the future,” Paul added.
The platform – known as a Secure Data Environment, or SDE – removes many of the frequent barriers to research using health data. The SDE enables researchers to more quickly and efficiently access the data need, which can lead to earlier findings without compromising the security or privacy of the data. The Secure Data Environment also complies with a robust legal framework to keep data safe and protected.
The platform will enable Paul and his team to interpret depersonalised data from around 1,000 CUH patients with heart failure, identifying information such as demographics, diagnosis and information about the specific markers of heart failure, disease and general health. Patient data from other hospitals and GP practices in the Eastern region could also be included at a later date.
“Heart failure is an umbrella term for many individual conditions which affect patients in different ways, so having access to a large amount of data is really important in understanding how treatment can be personalised.”
If the study is successful, it is hoped the data platform can be used to inform decisions for other cardiovascular conditions, such as ischemic heart disease and arrhythmia, and other specialisms beyond cardiology, to improve outcomes for patients.
“We’re getting better at treating heart failure, but this is dependent on our ability to recognise it sooner, and to recognise the factors which put an individual at a higher risk than others. We can then modify those risks and ensure that our services are treating people in the safest and most efficient way. We need patient data to inform the treatment of the future,” said Paul.
Results from this study may be available towards the end of the year, with further studies using depersonalised data from the SDE in other patient groups to follow. “Population based research, such as this, can then be used to improve future hospital services, as well as health education and policy so there are lots of implications for this work going forwards," he added.