Data for Decisions

Making better use of GP patient data for research

There is an acknowledged gap in Australian general practice research. As part of the Data for Decisions research initiative, the University of Melbourne Department of General Practice is establishing a secure data repository (known as Patron) of de-identified information from general practice patient medical records. With the consent of general practices, information is collected, curated and used for research. It has taken years to lay the legal, ethical, security and governance framework necessary to protect patient privacy and ensure best practice in all aspects of this work.

With general practice and public support, the potential of this initiative to generate new knowledge is enormous. This knowledge can be used to improve healthcare practices, policy and education towards better health outcomes.

For more information
www.gp.unimelb.edu.au/datafordecisions