Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, from the University’s Institute of Translational Medicine, recently helped Liverpool Health Partners (LHP) launch the Liverpool City Region (LCR), Health Informatics Research Strategy for 2017 -2022.
The strategy outlines a joined-up approach to how personal health data can be used to improve healthcare and to support research.
A joined-up approach to health data is essential to improving healthcare and to supporting research. With the appropriate safeguards this will improve health outcomes for patients and communities, improve service delivery and efficiency, and lead to new scientific discoveries.
Trustworthy approach
The strategy outlines the steps that are needed to create a trustworthy approach to enable the use of personal health data, that are already routinely collected, for research purposes.
The aim of LHP is to work in partnership to create a learning healthcare system for the LCR, and the wider Cheshire and Merseyside regions, where research findings can be swiftly implemented into practice. This has the potential to transform healthcare delivery and population health, as well as bringing investment into our region.
At the launch event Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, Executive Director for Liverpool Health Partners, outlined the implementation plans for the strategy which can be found here.
Huge benefits
The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies recently stated, “Personal data must always be stored securely, but using it responsibly can bring huge benefits to patients and improve diagnosis and treatment across the world”.
The Health Informatics Research Strategy is consistent with this view and outlines a vision to effectively utilise locally-generated personal health data, with the public’s consent, to improve the health and prosperity of our city region.
Under the leadership of Professor Tony Marson, Professor of Neurology at the Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, the strategy will focus on five key elements; building an effective network, working with the public, rolling out a consent model, creating a storage facility and identifying the resources required.
Digital economy
The Metro Mayor for Liverpool City Region has also lent his support to the strategy and will be addressed the audience on the importance of a connected digital economy for Liverpool City Region and his vision to achieve this across many key sectors to Liverpool City Region.
More details about LHP can be found here.
A video entitled ‘Using Personal Health Data for Clinical Research – Public Consultation’ can be found here.
Sir Munir, who also Consultant Physician at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, holds the only NHS Chair in Pharmacogenetics in the UK and is Director of the Medical Research Council’s Centre for Drug Safety Sciences. You can read more about his research here and listen to his podcast about personalised medicine here.