Health Data
A holistic approach to unlock the value of health data
The amount of health data has grown exponentially in the last decade.
While the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the capture rate and use of
such data, all stakeholders in the health data ecosystem still struggle to
design and scale their capabilities to unlock the full value of health data. In
addition, the upcoming EU regulatory framework will add some more
challenges, but also create many opportunities.
Health data is opening an avenue of new While several initiatives are launched to To unlock the full potential of health
business opportunities. From 2010 to support data sharing and its use in a data, stakeholders must deploy a
2020, the volume of data and information regulated way (e.g., European Health Data multidisciplinary approach.
created, captured, copied, and consumed Space), it is clear that managing and To help you navigate through the rapidly
worldwide increased by 40%, with an optimising health data in this rapidly evolving and challenging environment,
additional expected increase of 23% by changing environment is a complex topic. this document provides an overview of
20251. Accordingly, the installed base of Growing the right proficiencies in this the key elements to consider when
storage capacity is also forecasted to space is essential to success. strategically reflecting on how to
increase, at a compound annual growth Stakeholders in the health data maximise the value of health data.
rate of 19.2% by 2025. However, only 2% ecosystem are facing a significant missed
of the data produced and consumed in opportunity to leverage the vast amount More than 30% of global data
is generated by the Life Sciences
2020 was retained in 2021, and 97% of all of health data available, and insights that and Healthcare Industry
data produced by hospitals remains can be generated through it, to maximise
unused. value. and
only 2% of data produced 1
is retained the following year1
Source:
1. Statista 2023, RBC Capital Markets 2022, MedTech Europe 2022
Defining Health Data
Data is seamlessly woven into every aspect of our lives. When
“ Health data can help achieve more
efficient, higher-quality, safer and
used responsibly and to its full extent, data can bring incredible
benefits to healthcare services, researchers, health suppliers, more personalised care, and help
patients, citizens, and consumers. Yet, many organisations improve healthcare delivery
struggle to navigate the complex world of health data and to “
effectively use it to generate value. European Commission, 2022
What is the Current Ecosystem?
What is Health Data?
Organisations are operating in a vast and complex ecosystem of
We define health data as any personal data, at the individual or players producing, consuming, sharing, and regulating health data
population level, related to the physical or mental health of a for various reasons. To unlock health data value, it is important to
natural person. understand the roles of those actors and how they can impact
your own journey.
This includes the data used for and resulting from the provision of
We have grouped stakeholders in this ecosystem in 8 categories:
healthcare services, which reveal information about that person’s
- Individuals & Groups which consist of citizens, customers, and
health status and other financial indicators (e.g. health insurance).
patient organisations
- Research & Academia which consist of research institutes,
universities, and registries
What Types of Data are Included? - Life Sciences Industry which consists of MedTech, biobanks,
To understand the value that health data can provide, it is biotech, and pharma
important to first understand the many variables that are included - Payers which consist of insurances and sickness funds
in the definition. - Health Services which consist of healthcare providers and
institutions, public health agencies, and professional
associations
We consider health data as a combination of two main categories: - Government which consists of regulators, international
organisations, and health agencies
1. Traditional data types which include data collected through
- Data and Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
health research, health services organisations and providers,
Industry which consist of telecom, security analytics, and
and public health agencies.
health data brokers
2. Expanded data types which include environmental (e.g. - Others which consist of transportation, food and beverage
transportation, climate, etc.), lifestyle and socioeconomic retailers, and energy
variables (e.g. education), as well as behavioural and social
(e.g. wearable sensors) information.
With the explosion of health data available and demand for
transparency and ownership of their data by patients and end-
Indeed, merging the expanded data types with the traditional data consumers, many stakeholders struggle to truly define their
types increases the possibilities and value that organisations can role within this ecosystem and identify which strategic
generate. investment they should be making.
© 2023 Deloitte Belgium A holistic approach to unlock the value of health data 2
Health Data potential value for EU in the next 10 years
The Value of Health Data ~10 billion € in savings for the European Union
from better access and exchange of health data
in healthcare (~50% of savings) and from better
What is the value of Health Data? use of health data for research, innovation, and
policy making (~50% of savings).
Health data brings value across the ecosystem in a variety of ways,
EU Health: European Health Data Space, May 2022
some more easily quantifiable than others. We defined a
combination of four types of value generation:
- Economical: Impact on cost savings and/or revenue generated. - Personal: Impact on individuals when leveraging their own
For example, Life Sciences companies who conduct clinical health data. For example, citizens who become empowered to
research identify new disease risk factors,
research, manage manage their own health; patients who can
and develop new treatments and therapies; make more informed decisions about their
healthcare organisations who reduce costs health and better manage their personal care
by identifying inefficiencies and developing plans; healthcare organisations who support
more effective treatment strategies; or and personalise the experience of patients
companies creating new business models through innovative solutions (e.g., virtual care
directly monetising health data, AI models, such as telemedicine and remote patient
etc. (e.g., data brokers) monitoring)
- Clinical: Impact on care delivery and - Societal: Impact on public health and policy
patient outcomes. For example, healthcare decisions. For example, governments who can
organisations who improve diagnoses and help identify health disparities and inform
develop personalised treatment plans for strategies to address them; regulators who can
patients based on their unique inform policies to improve quality of care,
characteristics and medical history; or reimbursement schemes, etc.; agencies who
researchers who develop personalised can better inform the public and ultimately
medicine, support early detection of diseases, improve population health
and design more effective treatments
What drives the value of Health Data?
“ Data value is task-specific (…) value is not meant to be
an intrinsic value for a piece of data; it isn’t permanent
and persistent. For predicting diabetes, patients’ blood
In addition to the use case for which health data is being used, we
have identified four main characteristics that can increase or
decrease the value that can be realised from health data.
sugar levels will be more valuable than their blood
Data Nature Data Property
pressure. For predicting heart disease, that value
proposition might well flip “ Detailed qualities and
Basic and inherent characteristics of the data
features of the data (type, (accuracy, completeness,
Stanford University Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, 2021
format, source, scarcity, uniqueness, consistency,
age, etc.) validity, integrity, level of
curation, etc.)
Can the value of Health Data be quantified?
Quantifying the value of health data as an intangible asset within Data Relevance Data Availability
an organisation proves extremely challenging. The value of health State of the data of being Quality of being able to
data depends on the benefits and advantages that can be derived appropriate for a particular obtain and use the data
from collecting, analysing, and utilising this data. It is hence very purpose (business (ownership, exclusivity &
applicability, coverage, accessibility, consent,
specific to the use case, consumers, competitors, business model,
propensity for machine- interoperability &
etc. on which said value is estimated. learning, etc.) connectivity, cost, etc.)
© 2023 Deloitte Belgium A holistic approach to unlock the value of health data 3
Need for a Multidisciplinary Approach
What Challenges are Clients Facing? What is Deloitte’s Approach?
There are key strategic challenges to consider when leveraging The challenges that clients face can be solved by collaborating
health data. Highlighted below are some of the most common closely within the ecosystem and by applying a multidisciplinary
challenges organizations are facing today when it comes to setting approach. Deloitte’s multidisciplinary team of experts will support
a successful health data strategy: you in addressing health data challenges and determine with you
the best avenues to capture the potential of health data.
Privacy & Ethical
Constraints due to international and national privacy Our approach includes expertise in 6 key areas:
protection laws and regulations, such as the European 1. Legal, Public Health, Policy, & Regulatory to advise on all legal
Union General Data Protection Regulation and regulatory aspects related to health data
2. Privacy & Security to advise on cyber security and support
Legal cloud and software implementation from a risk, privacy, and
Challenges due to inconsistent national strategies, compliance perspective
policies, and enforcement as well as upcoming regulatory 3. Strategy to advise and support on health data value creation
changes in the EU, as part of the EU Data Strategy and identify differentiating use cases
4. Data Governance & Quality to define operating models, tools,
processes, roles, and responsibilities required to manage
Ownership: Buy or Build
data and its quality across the value chain
Unclear data ownership and usage rights (e.g. patients vs
5. Data & Analytics Platform to advise and implement a core data
hospitals vs providers)
platform required to enable health data strategy and ensure
interoperability with your ecosystem
Interoperability
Lack of data interoperability capabilities and supporting
regulations to collect, access, and share data
STRATEGY
PRIVACY & SECURITY DATA GOVERNANCE &
QUALITY
Costs & Contracts
Barriers to acquire data and to collaborate with third
parties (e.g. data brokers)
LEGAL, PUBLIC DATA & ANALYTICS
HEALTH, POLICY, & PLATFORM
REGULATORY HEALTH DATA SERVICES
Business/Commercial Strategy
As health data continues to expand, it will become critical for
Difficulty in quantifying and monetising the value of
organisations to invest in this space to grow market share and
existing and required data assets
meet consumer needs. Through Deloitte’s vast network, we
connect many different disciplines to provide the knowledge,
Data Quality & Maintenance
broad perspective, and inspiration that delivers breakthrough
Poor data quality and investments in data management
solutions.
capabilities (e.g. platforms), leading to lack of reliability
References:
and lack of trust and transparency amongst 1. Statista (2022). Amount of data created, consumed, and stored 2010-2020, with forecasts to 2025.
[Link]
stakeholders, resulting in siloed initiatives 2. RBC Capital Markets (2022). The Healthcare Data Explosion.
[Link]
3. MedTech Europe (2022). The Journey of Health Data in Medical Technologies. [Link]
content/uploads/2022/09/[Link]
4. European Commission (2022). A European Health Data Space: harnessing the power of health data for people,
patients and innovation. [Link]
5. EU Health (2022). European Health Data Space Factsheet.
[Link]
© 2023 Deloitte Belgium A holistic approach to unlock the value of health data 4
Contact
If you would like to learn more about this topic and how our Deloitte team can help you, please contact us
Authors
Ben Desmet Tom Van Wesemael
Director, Deloitte Consulting Belgium Partner, Deloitte Consulting Belgium
Health Data Lead Life Sciences & Healthcare Leader
bdesmet@[Link] tvanwesemael@[Link]
+32 496 72 77 42 +32 499 56 73 25
Xavier Thiry Sarah Haas
Senior Manager, Deloitte Consulting Belgium Manager, Deloitte Consulting Belgium
Health Data Expert Health Data Expert
xavthiry@[Link] sarhaas@[Link]
+32 474 31 77 18 +32 474 90 12 17
Additional contacts by expertise area
Wim Hermans Anne Massij
Partner, Deloitte Risk Advisory Belgium Partner, Deloitte Consulting Belgium
Privacy & Security Healthcare Lead
whermans@[Link] amassij@[Link]
+ 32 496 57 41 60 + 32 475 74 55 26
Yves Toninato Matthias Vierstraete
Senior Director, Deloitte Consulting Belgium Director, Deloitte Legal Belgium
Data Governance, Data & Analytics Platform Legal, Policy & Regulatory - IP/IT Law
yvtoninato@[Link] mvierstraete@[Link]
+ 32 496 57 49 70 + 32 473 56 94 70
Wim Naudts Laurine Vivens
Director, Deloitte Legal Belgium Director, Deloitte Consulting Belgium
Legal, Policy & Regulatory - Public & Regulatory Law Public Health Expert
wnaudts@[Link] lvivens@[Link]
+ 32 474 87 90 79 + 32 475 80 28 38
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