What is OpenSAFELY?
Health Data Platform: Developed by Ben Goldacre and his team, OpenSAFELY allows secure access to health records for approximately 58 million people in the U.K.
Researchers do not access personal data directly. Instead, they submit code queries, which are processed securely within a controlled environment.
Every piece of code submitted by researchers is publicly visible, ensuring that analyses can be reviewed and verified.
Potential for Future Health Data Research and Patient Privacy
Reduces the time required for researchers to gain access to data, bypassing lengthy vetting processes that can take months or years.
Maintains patient confidentiality by keeping data within a secure system, which helps build public trust in health data research.
The framework can be adapted for various types of data in different fields, providing a template for secure and efficient research practices globally.
Public visibility of code helps prevent p-hacking, where researchers might otherwise manipulate data to achieve desired results.
p-hacking, where ‘p’ stands for p-value, a number that indicates whether some data is significant or just a chance occurrence
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