Department of Health replaces legacy data system with a secure, integrated analytics cloud platform.
The Problem
Before COVID-19, many departments of health across Canada were working to replace outdated, siloed data stores with modern, integrated data hubs offering timely, secure access to data to drive improvements in healthcare. When the pandemic hit, it amplified the pressure to be able to securely collect, share and analyze broad health data for evidence-based decision-making.
Mariner partnered with provincial health departments to find a cost-effective alternative to its legacy system, a patchwork of loosely connected on-premise data stores and systems, many of which had been adapted in isolation over the years to meet the needs of specific user groups.
“Data was spread across different organizations with no true consolidated, single point of truth,” says Brian May, Principal Solutions Architect at Mariner. There was duplication of effort, and incomplete data-sharing agreements which complicated access.
“Even just knowing what data was where was a challenge,” he says. “And when it was located, there was not sufficient documentation of its quality or history.”
The department needed a modern, secure, centralized system where approved users could access and exchange health care data safely. The platform would provide a scalable space to work with data and derive new insights that could advance care and drive healthcare innovation.
The Solution
Healthcare is a vast and complicated system; its data management is no exception.
Mariner came into the project with the aim to “simplify complexity,” Brian says, so the government and other stakeholders could harness the data to drive change, improve outcomes, and support research, commercialization in a secured environment.
It started with a robust discovery process, with Mariners consulting with stakeholders across the department and beyond to understand key sources of health information. The new, cloud-based system solution would have to handle massive amounts of data, including patient records, drug information systems data, and emergency health data.
The project’s first principle was security, with controls exceeding most other jurisdictions in Canada. Mariner also implemented rigorous privacy features to safely provide access to people in and outside of government, including researchers and approved businesses.
“This idea is to open access to data while respecting privacy and security to external entities with tight controls,” Brian says.
It needed to be scalable, meet the needs contracting and expanding in response to demand.
“You can provision the environment you need to do your job, and when you’re done, it turns off, so you’re not incurring costs,” Brians says. “We’ve implemented an excellent economy of scale strategy, where you only pay for what you use. We are always optimizing costs.”
And it was built to be flexible.
“A platform in this day and age is always evolving and changing,” Brian says. “This platform offers significant amounts of add-on capability.”
It also needed to be extensible. The solution will ensure secure access by a broad group of stakeholders throughout the public health sector.
Mariner provided implementation services across critical areas, including data management, BI/reporting, and cloud-based analytics, as well as supporting the implementation of early use cases.
The bow wrapping it all up?
Next-generation big data tools for discovery, predictive analytics, consolidation, and linkage.
“And making them available to all organizations at a better price than they could do on their own.”
The Impact
Along with the new cloud system’s cost efficiencies over traditional on-premises systems, greater usability, higher security, and enhanced data management, it is extensible, which means that it allows approved users, who might include statisticians, data scientists, departmental reporting officers, healthcare providers, university researchers, hospital administrators, and healthcare innovators, to store and share data.
The system currently contains health-related information, but it has the potential for people to bring in other types of datasets.
“The new system is so much more than just a data hub,” he says. “It is a fully scalable platform that is truly a workspace for analytics, reporting and data science.”
Mariner brought deep experience in data and built similar environments for big U.S. health companies on-premises and in the cloud. Just as important: a sense of ownership.
“We feel we’re just as responsible as the government,” Brian says. “We wanted to deliver something exceptional.”
Mariner is dedicated to transforming the healthcare system.
We combine our expertise in consulting, data and insights, technology, change management, cybersecurity, and clinical practice to drive impactful outcomes. With consultants who have direct clinical and healthcare consulting experience, we’re uniquely positioned to navigate healthcare’s complexities effectively and support digital health transformation. Let’s connect