At BIGAN, special attention is paid to the privacy of the data of all citizens whose information is collected and processed for the benefit of society as a whole. For this reason, security has been a fundamental aspect of the BIGAN platform since the initial design stages, as required by the National Security Scheme and relevant data protection legislation.
Pseudonymization
All information collected and managed in BIGAN is pseudonymized. This means that, when information is gathered from a source system (Clinical History, Electronic Prescription, etc.), all information that would enable identification of the individual to whom the data pertain is eliminated, and we read only data strictly necessary for the objectives by BIGAN: i.e. evaluation and management of the health system, public health, biomedical research, and support of health professionals in their daily work. In this way, the privacy and intimacy of patients is guaranteed, while healthcare managers and researchers can broaden their knowledge via access to the health data of all citizens, and thus help improve the care of the entire population.
Security
The entire technological infrastructure of BIGAN has been developed following relevant data security guidelines. The data and system protection mechanisms are reviewed periodically and are subjected to external audits. BIGAN has issued a declaration of conformity with the basic level of the National Security Scheme, and is working to obtain medium level certification in the near future.
Ethics
BIGAN works closely with the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Aragon (CEICA), to ensure that the procedures and techniques of BIGAN fulfil the relevant research ethics criteria. No research project can use BIGAN data without prior review and authorization by the CEICA.
Right to objection
All health data collected daily in the public health system of Aragon are likely to be collected, after pseudonymization, in BIGAN, provided that they are relevant to the objectives of BIGAN, i.e. to advance biomedical knowledge and improve the health system and public health. Once the objection of a citizen has been notified, their health data will no longer be used in any research project carried out via BIGAN.
