A brief overview of some terms relating to data and health

Data FAIRification refers to the process of making data compliant with the FAIR principles, which aim to enhance the usability of data by making it Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. Findability of data means that it becomes easier for data users (both humans and machines) to locate the data they need. Increasing the accessibility of data means that once data users have located the data they need, they also know how to access it. Increasing the interoperability of data means that data from different sources becomes compatible and combinable with other datasets and tools or technologies. Increasing the reusability of the data means that the data can be used in future different research.

Federated data analysis is a method of analyzing data stored in different locations or systems without moving or centralizing the data. Instead of bringing all the data to one place, the analysis is performed where the data is stored, and only the results are combined. This approach is often used to maintain data privacy and security. This way, the data stays in its original location, and sensitive information is protected. Imagine you have puzzle pieces spread across different rooms. Instead of collecting all the pieces into one room, you go to each room, analyze the pieces, and then bring back just the conclusions to see the full picture. In healthcare, hospitals can use federated data analysis to study patient trends without sharing sensitive patient records. Each hospital analyzes its own data locally, and only the aggregated findings are shared.

A federated data platform is a system or architecture that enables decentralized data management and collaboration across multiple locations, systems, or organizations while maintaining data ownership, security, and privacy at the source. Instead of centralizing all the data in a single repository, a federated platform allows decentralized data storage, meaning data remains distributed at different organizations or devices, but makes it accessible and usable across the participating entities. In essence, a federated data platform is a powerful way to enable collaboration and analysis across distributed data ecosystems without compromising privacy, security, or ownership.

FHIR stands for Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources. It is an interoperability standard developed by HL7 (the Health Level 7 standards organization) designed to enable the exchange of healthcare data electronically between different computer systems in the healthcare industry, regardless of how it is stored in those systems. It is a set of rules and specifications for the secure exchange of electronic health care data. It is designed to be flexible and adaptable, so that it can be used in a wide range of settings and with different health care information systems.