Cód. SSPA: IBiS-DS-31
The Innovation and Data Analysis Unit of Virgen Macarena University Hospital focuses on the use of health data, digital technologies, and advanced data analytic approaches to support research, innovation, and high quality healthcare. We aim to improve patient health, support clinical decision-making, enhance the efficiency of healthcare services, and contribute to the sustainability of the healthcare system. Our unit is in a unique position to both develop digital health solutions and exploit the clinical data generated within the hospital. We work closely with clinical services and research groups in the hospital and collaborate with Primary Care centres within our reference area. This combination of technological capabilities, access to real world healthcare data, and close collaboration with healthcare professionals enables us to develop and implement solutions that respond to real clinical and organisational needs.
Our main lines of research are:
1. Health Data Spaces for Research
We participate in several pioneering initiatives at both the European and Spanish levels focused on developing data spaces and infrastructures for the secure secondary use of health data for research and innovation.
● OHSIRIS. OHSIRIS is a project coordinated by our unit and funded by the Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation. We have developed a national health data space to support biomedical research, based on federated analysis of health data. The project brings together six healthcare organisations covering approximately 10 million inhabitants and the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS). We are developing a common governance framework, technical infrastructure, tools, and standardised procedures to enable secure, transparent, and efficient access to health data for research and innovation. This experience enables our unit to provide and support the technical and organisational infrastructure required to establish secure data spaces for the secondary use of healthcare data, including federated data access, governance, interoperability, and secure research environments.
● IDERHA. IDERHA is an Innovative Health Initiative (IHI)-funded initiative developing a pan-European platform for the integration and secondary use of diverse real-world health data at scale, aligned with the European Health Data Space (EHDS). Within the project, our unit uses hospital data mapped to the OMOP Common Data Model as a use case focused on lung cancer. The objective is to facilitate the integration and analysis of real-world data to support earlier detection and improve outcomes and quality of life for patients.
● EUCAIM. EUCAIM is establishing a pan-European federated infrastructure for the secure secondary use of cancer imaging data, based on FAIR and anonymised datasets while preserving data sovereignty. The infrastructure provides an AI experimentation environment to support the development and validation of tools for precision medicine in cancer care. By connecting imaging repositories across Europe, EUCAIM facilitates the reuse of imaging data by clinicians, researchers, and innovators and supports the development of reproducible AI-based solutions for healthcare.
2. Big Data, Real-World Data and Advanced Data Analytics
We exploit clinical, socioeconomic, demographic, environmental, and other real-world data sources to generate evidence and develop analytical and predictive models that can support healthcare planning, prevention, diagnosis, and clinical decision-making. Our expertise includes data integration and management, epidemiology, biostatistics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, geospatial analysis, and longitudinal analysis of real-world health data. We also integrate clinical information with socioeconomic, environmental, and geographical data to investigate the broader determinants of health and healthcare outcomes. A strength of our unit is our expertise in the OMOP Common Data Model, which has become the standard for the generation of evidence from retrospective healthcare data collected in routine care. This expertise enables us to participate in multicentre and federated studies across Spain and Europe and to work with harmonised datasets from different healthcare organisations. We are currently involved in national and European research projects investigating a broad range of health conditions, including asthma, cancer (LUCIA and IDERHA), cardiovascular disease (CARAMEL and GeoCardio), schizophrenia (VOLABIOS), and cognitive impairment associated with hearing loss.
Our experience in data standardisation and harmonisation enables us to transform heterogeneous clinical information into interoperable, research-ready datasets, facilitating multicentre studies, federated analyses, and the reuse of real-world data across institutions and countries.
3. Research Support Platform
Over the course of 10 years, we have developed a digital platform to support health research, providing technological tools and services to research teams within the hospital and the wider healthcare system. The platform supports the design, management, recruitment, and follow-up of research studies and clinical trials, while enabling the secure reuse of information already available in Electronic Health Records (EHRs). The functionalities include:
● Study management and electronic Case Report Forms: The platform integrates a module for the rapid creation of electronic Case Report Forms (eCRFs) based on a harmonised information model and intuitive drag-and-drop functionality. Researchers can collaboratively design clinical data collection forms and reuse previously defined forms, terminologies, and information structures. The platform also integrates established research tools, including OpenClinica, REDCap, TranSMART, and i2b2.
● Mobile health interventions: through the use of Progressive Web App technology, our platform allows for easy design of mobile apps. These applications can be accessed directly through a web browser without requiring installation from an app store, providing a flexible and user-friendly way for patients to report health information, complete questionnaires, record symptoms, and provide patient-generated health data.
● Patient recruitment and follow-up through EHR data reuse. The platform enables researchers to identify, recruit, and follow eligible patients using information already recorded in the EHR. This can accelerate patient identification and recruitment, reduce duplication in data collection, and facilitate longitudinal follow-up throughout research studies.
● Secure Research Environment. As an internal hospital infrastructure, the platform enables research teams to work with healthcare data without transferring patient information outside the information systems of the Andalusian Public Health System. This provides a controlled and secure environment for research while maintaining institutional control over sensitive healthcare data and ensuring data sovereignty.
● Secure AI capabilities. The platform is hosted on high-capacity infrastructure that supports the deployment of advanced AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) within the local hospital environment. This enables the development of applications such as secure clinical chatbots, automated information extraction, and the structuring and transformation of unstructured EHR information. By deploying these technologies within the hospital's secure infrastructure, sensitive patient information can be processed without being transferred to third parties.
4. Hospital Processes Optimisation
Our unit also works closely with hospital management and clinical departments to identify, analyse, and improve inefficient or suboptimal healthcare and organisational processes. We combine process analysis, data, digital technologies, and user-centred approaches to develop practical solutions that can be integrated into routine hospital operations.
Our projects include:
● Customised Management Dashboards. Our team has developed a management support system for the hospital's Clinical Management Units (UGCs), integrated with hospital information systems to extract, analyse, and visualise relevant operational information in real time. The system provides customised dashboards tailored to the needs of each UGC, enabling clinical and management teams to monitor activity, identify bottlenecks, and support data-informed decision-making.
● TECIPOT system. The TECIPOT project aimed to optimise the patient transfer and discharge pathways involving the Emergency Department, observation units, and hospital discharge by digitising steps in the workflow. Following an analysis of the needs and bottlenecks within these processes the admission, observation, transfer, and discharge workflows have been redesigned using QR codes and software developed by our team. The system provides healthcare professionals and operational staff (including Cleaning Services, Admissions, Nursing, Healthcare Assistants, and hospital management) with real-time access to information related to bed management, admissions, transfers, and discharge processes. The solution incorporates management dashboards for monitoring the entire process, together with mobile applications for cleaning staff and patient transport/orderlies, improving traceability, coordination, and operational efficiency.
● OPTIDECON Project. The OPTIDECON project focuses on incorporating new digital tools and analytical approaches to optimise the economic and resource management of the hospital. Current work focuses particularly on improving the monitoring and analysis of continuity of care across the hospital's Clinical Management Units, with the objective of identifying opportunities for more efficient resource allocation and improved healthcare organisation.
● Lean-Q Project. The Lean-Q project is focusing on the use of digital technologies and process improvement approaches to increase the efficiency of resource utilisation within the surgical pathway. The project aims to improve coordination between healthcare professionals and optimise patient management throughout the surgical process, reducing inefficiencies and improving the use of available operating-room and hospital resources.
