Date/Time
Date(s) - 23/05/2014
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location
Level 5, Sir Alwyn Williams Building, Department of Computing Science, Glasgow University
How do we create a national, let alone international, linkage?
At the national level, projects rarely have the time and willingness to
pay attention to detail, and tend to create “broad brush” data. Small
local entities often take pride in making use of local knowledge to
create high-quality linkage. Is it possible to have a big picture that
still reflects the quality of linkage found in a local cancer registry?
It’s easier than you might think!
Biography: After an early career in marine zoology combined with
computing, John Bass has been at the leading edge of health-related data
linkage in Australia since 1984. Early work on infant mortality in
Western Australia resulted in a linked dataset that became the
cornerstone of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research. He then
implemented the Australian National Death Index in Canberra before
returning to Perth as the founding manager of the Western Australian
linked health data project — the first of its kind in the country. He
designed and implemented the technical system of this group, which is
widely recognised as the foremost data linkage unit in Australia. John
stepped aside from his position in 2000 but has continued a close
relationship with the project, designing and overseeing the
implementation of genealogical links and then spending several years
working with state and federal government to implement the first
large-scale linkage of national pharmaceutical and general practice
information. This involved the development of new best-practice privacy
protocols that are now widely adopted across Australia. He was a core
participant in developing a detailed plan for the implementation of a
second state-based data linkage unit involving New South Wales and the
Australian Capital Territory. In 2008 John moved to Tasmania, where he
spent four years planning and paving the way for the implementation of a
state-wide data linkage unit. He is now semi-retired, but still working
on new developments in data linkage technology.
