Data linkage in Queensland
What is data linkage?
Data linkage is a process that is used to combine information relating to an individual entity from within or across multiple sources.
Data linkage is an efficient way to enhance existing data to increase their usefulness for informing population health and clinical research, policy development, and health service planning, management, monitoring and evaluation.
In a health context, data linkage is commonly used to identify data about individual patients from different health datasets for a more comprehensive view of a patient’s medical history and healthcare journey. This process requires use of identifying patient data such as name, date of birth and address however these data are accessed solely for the purposes of linkage and are not released with linked health data. In order to protect patients’ privacy and confidentiality, project-specific patient identifiers are created and attached to the data instead, allowing a user to determine the data that relate to an individual without directly identifying the patient. For further information on the data linkage process, please see the Queensland Data Linkage Framework and the video Let's navigate data linkage.
Data Linkage Queensland
The Statistical Analysis and Linkage Unit within the Statistical Services Branch of Queensland Health is also known as Data Linkage Queensland (DLQ). DLQ routinely links many Departmental and other health-related datasets, and performs data linkage to facilitate and promote health service planning, management, monitoring and evaluation, and research within Queensland. Additionally, DLQ is responsible for much of Queensland’s health data linkage for Commonwealth requirements, national committees, and cross-jurisdictional research projects.
As a member of the Population Health Research Network (PHRN), DLQ works with data linkage units in other Australian jurisdictions to link health datasets from other states and territories for use in national research.
DLQ is registered as an Accredited Data Services Provider (ADSP), which enables the handling of Australian Government data under the DATA Scheme. ADSPs are described as “expert intermediaries in the data sharing process that provide services (such as complex integration, secure access, and de-identification) which support sharing by data custodians with accredited users”.
Products of data linkage
SSB, in conjunction with the PHRN, has compiled a searchable list of peer-reviewed publications that have used Queensland linked data. A list of research projects utilising SSB data and linkage services is also available.
Data linkage was required to produce several of the Statbites and Technical Reports on this site. See also Linkage Stories or watch presentations from the Data Linkage Symposium to hear more about applications of data linkage.