Medical data space launched in China’s Greater Bay Area

The Chinese University of Hong Kong and its partners have launched the first medical data space in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. 

This data space, according to a media release, provides opportunities for medical collaboration and scientific research development in the $2 trillion economic region. 

Partners, which include the International Data Space Association, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), the National Engineering Centre for Next Generation Internet and CUHK Big Data Ltd, have also started building the infrastructure’s interoperability. 

WHY IT MATTERS

The aim, said CUHK, is to ensure that data is secure across the entire flow process, from generation, acquisition, storage, processing, and distribution to destruction or archiving. 

“The establishment of the Greater Bay Area cross-border medical data space will promote the flow and application of cross-border medical data, help the region’s medical industry participate in international cooperation, and contribute to the development of global health technology,” it added in a statement. 

Founding members of this project include the Zhongda Hospital, Shenzhen Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone Hospital, and Guangzhou Nansha District Health and Health Bureau. The Hong Kong eHealth Alliance, China Big Data Co., and The University of Hong Kong are also participating.

THE LARGER CONTEXT

The launch of the medical data space follows the recent formation of a 12-member digital health alliance in China’s Greater Bay Area. This alliance, initiated by the HKSTP, effectively laid the foundation for the medical data space. The HKSTP, together with Hospital Authority Hong Kong, formed a precursor to this project. A data collaboration laboratory at HKSTP was introduced in 2023, providing direct exclusive access to the HA Self-service Data Platform, which holds anonymous clinical records of around 200,000 patients.

The creation of the Greater Bay Area medical data space aligns with China’s four-year Trusted Data Space Development Action Plan, launched last year by the National Data Administration of China. It targets to pilot over a hundred trusted data spaces by 2028, promoting industry-wide data collaborations and creating economic value.