iCARE

iCARE uses secure health data to improve patient outcomes, accelerate research & innovation and drive real-world impact across the NHS.

Health data in context

Health data has the potential to transform patient care, research, and healthcare quality. When used
safely and effectively, it can improve clinical outcomes, support earlier diagnosis, enable better decision making, and help reduce health inequalities. Yet too often, healthcare data is fragmented, difficult to access, and underused. Realising its potential requires secure technology, robust governance, and genuine collaboration between the NHS, researchers and the patients whose data it represents. iCARE was created to address these challenges. Established as a partnership between Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHT), iCARE brings together clinical, technical and governance expertise to enable safe, effective use of health data. As the Digital Health lead for the Imperial NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, iCARE sits at the centre of Imperial’s biomedical research mission.

iCARE delivers this through three core functions:

1. Secure health data infrastructure:
iCARE operates the Imperial Secure Data Environment (SDE): a cloud-based platform that enables
approved researchers, clinicians and analysts to access and analyse de-identified health data for specific projects in a controlled and governed way. The SDE supports a modern approach to health data research. Rather than moving or duplicating datasets, the SDE allows data to be accessed securely where it is held, protecting patient confidentiality while enabling high-impact research, analytics and service improvement. The SDE currently supports research across Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust’s five hospitals, with linked data access extending to 2.8 million people across North-West London through its partnership with Whole Systems Integrated Care (WSIC).

2. A multidisciplinary delivery team:
iCARE delivers research programmes that use real-world health data to improve understanding of illness, treatment pathways and patient outcomes across the NHS. Working across clinical care, data science and analytics, the iCARE research team develops and evaluates new approaches to diagnosis, treatment, operational decision-making and population health. These programmes directly support the NHS 10 Year Health Plan ambition to shift care from Analogue to Digital, Hospital to Community, and Sickness to Prevention. In practice, this means using data to improve early diagnosis and intervention, enable safer and more effective decision-making in real time, and support care models that are proactive, community-based and prevention-focused rather than reactive.

3. A collaborative system enabling research and innovation:
Alongside delivering research, iCARE enables researchers, clinicians and partners to carry out data-driven research safely and efficiently. Through the SDE, iCARE provides governed access to de-identified health data, alongside technical infrastructure, information governance expertise and analytical support. This enables collaborations across the NHS, academia, and industry to develop, test and evaluate new technologies, analytics, and models of care while maintaining high standards of privacy, security, and public trust.

From research to real-world impact

iCARE’s research and innovation programmes are already making a difference across the NHS. Learn
more about how iCARE is supporting:
• Better understanding of disease and treatment pathways
• Improved diagnosis and earlier intervention
• Safer, more effective clinical and operational decision-making
• Development and evaluation of new digital health tools and models of care

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