Past June, Badalona Serveis Asistencials (BSA) published an analysis of oncological diseases in the municipality of Badalona. This study is one of the main outputs of the UOC-BSA Chair on health data analysis, which was made possible thanks to the donation of Mr. Romà Núñez Lloreda as reflected in our website .

For the elaboration of the basis data of this report, it has been necessary to collect, integrate and analyze information from different information systems of very different nature. For example, the existing oncological reports have been processed to extract some specific data and indicators using text Mining techniques. Practically all the existing information in the primary care systems during the 2010-2015 period has been processed and part of the hospital and specialized care information during this same period has been integrated. The conclusions based on the results of the analysis will allow the BSA care specialists and managers to design and implement actions with the final focus on improving the health of citizens and on the most efficient adaptation of the resources allocated in a specific population area.

The studies based on Real World Evidence and Real World Data (RWE and RWD) are gaining increasing relevance when dealing with decisions in healthcare. The processing and analysis of information directly extracted from the electronic medical records of a given health provider has an enormous potential. However, this experience has demonstrated that many difficulties are embodied when interpreting the data. For example, the effects of under-registration (existing cases, but not registered) should be taken into account when carrying out population analyses and the specific characteristics of both the information systems involved and the way people use them during the healthcare process should be considered.
The experience confirms once more the importance of the participation of all healthcare professionals (health staff, managers and information systems professionals) in the preparation of analyses and models aimed at supporting decisions in the healthcare area.