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How patient data is being turned into life-saving insights
A paper from the University of Dundee sets out how secure access to patient data is enabling life-saving medical research across Scotland, the UK and beyond, while maintaining strict safeguards around privacy and public trust.
Published on 17 March 2026
Published in the International Journal of Population Data Science, the paper profiles the work of the University’s Health Informatics Centre (HIC), a resource that supports researchers to safely use routinely collected health data for public-benefit research.
Working in partnership with NHS Scotland health boards, HIC manages data covering around a fifth of Scotland’s population. The resource spans more than 20 years and includes records from approximately 2.1 million people across more than 170 datasets. Since 2004, HIC has supported over 1,000 projects, contributing to more than 400 research studies focused on improving patient care, healthcare delivery and population health.
Dr Laura Ward from the University’s Health Informatics Centre said, “Behind every electronic health record is a person, and at HIC we never lose sight of that. By protecting patient privacy while supporting responsible data re-use for public good, we enable research that delivers real-world impact and ultimately changes lives.”
Every interaction with the health service generates data, from hospital admissions and prescriptions to blood tests and diagnostic imaging. The paper explains how HIC securely curates, links and manages this information, making it available to approved researchers through its Trusted Research Environment (TRE). This ‘secure-by-design’ computing platform allows de-identified data to be analysed without being removed or exposed, ensuring patient confidentiality is protected at all times as per the ‘Five Safes’ principles.
Three major data hubs are highlighted. The UK-wide Alleviate Pain Data Hub focuses on addressing unmet need in chronic pain research using a common data model to support standardisation. HIC also hosts large-scale clinical imaging datasets - including MRI, CT and X-ray - that can be securely linked to health records. In addition, the Scottish Health Research Register and Biobank (SHARE) provides access to more than 300,000 volunteers, alongside biological samples and linked health and genomic data.
HIC is distinctive in combining service delivery with active, research-led innovation through its research team. This close link means its operational processes continue to evolve alongside emerging methodologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, advanced analytics and cloud computing. An in-house software development team supports HIC research and services work, alongside a commitment to open science through the release of open-source tools and resources.
Looking ahead, HIC will continue to invest in specialist teams, collaborative partnerships and the integration of research insight into practice, ensuring that secure data use delivers lasting benefits for patients, populations and healthcare systems across Scotland and beyond.