Guideline Shaping the Future: iCARE SDE’s Strategic Publications on Secure Data Environments
Today marks the publication of the final article which sets the strategic direction for iCARE Secure Data Environment (SDE) and Whole Systems Integrated Care (WSIC). In total, three articles were published by the Health Service Journal outlining strategic direction.
The iCARE Digital Collaboration Space and Secure Data Environment facilitates the Digital Health theme for the NIHR Imperial BRC.
Published by the Health Services Journal, iCARE SDE and WSIC have authored three articles that trace their origins from data-driven research spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, to setting up frameworks that balance security and innovation, and finally meeting future challenges in supporting secure and trusted healthcare data access.
Speaking about the response to the articles so far, Ben Glampson, Deputy Director of iCARE SDE, “the articles have triggered significant discussion and have been well received. I am excited to have had such interesting feedback and am looking forward to continuing conversations with people.”
While the articles were sponsored by Snowflake, they are entirely based on conversations between iCARE Director Erik Mayer, who is also the NIHR Imperial BRC Digital Health Theme Co-lead, iCARE Deputy Director Ben Glampson, and Director of Business Intelligence and North West London Chief Information Officer, Kavitha Saravanakumar.
iCARE sits across Imperial College London and the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust at the Digital Collaboration Space in the heart of Paddington. iCARE also collaborates with partners such as Snowflake and the Trust via Paddington Life Sciences – a cluster of health research and data businesses based around St Mary’s Hospital, who are partnering with local communities and stakeholders to improve health and drive economic growth for all.
Secure Data Strategy
iCARE SDE, which holds health data routinely collected across Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust’s five hospitals, together with Whole Systems Integrated Care (WSIC), hold the secure health and care data for 2.8 million people in North West London and beyond.
The iCARE SDE is continually evolving to ensure its architecture supports innovative research and data analytics, while maintaining the highest security standards and delivering clinical impact. As one of the founding members of the OneLondon sub-national NHS England programme, the iCARE SDE with WSIC will support access to linked data from over 10 million citizens.
The iCARE SDE is scaling to sustainably support AI, machine learning, and federated research. Key developments include automation for data ingestion, sustainable infrastructure, and real-time clinical integration via AI-driven tools.
In the article published by Health Services Journal today, iCARE and WSIC address how by enabling safe, continuous evaluation and return of insights to care, they set a benchmark for responsible, secure innovation in health data science. Through our innovative safe return process, we can support actionable information provision directly into care pathways as well as more traditional case note reviews securely and safely with appropriate governance and approval.
Origin Story
The first article in the series outlines how a transformative digital health initiative in North West London has evolved from an urgent pandemic response into a pioneering Secure Data Environment, integrating clinical and operational data to support research, innovation, and patient care.
Spearheaded by iCARE and WSIC, this collaboration has enhanced data accessibility, improved care delivery, and informed real-time public health decisions. With scalable cloud infrastructure now in place, the region is positioned to deliver digital health research and innovation moving forward.
The article addresses how a crisis-driven need for data turned into a long-term engine for innovation across an integrated care system.
Security frameworks
As demand for access to real-world health data increases, the iCARE Secure Data Environment strikes a balance between enabling cutting-edge research and stringent safeguards and security. Researchers now work within a robust, transparent framework that protects patient information while enabling innovation in AI, analytics, and public health. With adaptable tools, ethical oversight, and strong partnerships in place, the system sets a new benchmark for secure digital health research.
In the second article published by Health Services Journal, iCARE and WSIC address how such an environment succeeds in meeting both the accelerating pace of research and the public’s expectation for trust, accountability, and impact.
Future work
iCARE and WSIC are continuing to improve their processes and strive to ensure that secure data is accessible to any project that could provide health and care decision support and improve patient outcomes.
This also involves transparency around improvements, processes and research projects. Hence, iCARE SDE is continuously publishing news and resources via their website.
