What is the Medical Data Integration Center?
The Medical Data Integration Center at Heidelberg University Hospital was established as part of the Medical Informatics Initiative (MII). The aim of the Medical Data Integration Center (MeDICs) at Heidelberg University Hospital is to make data from medical care available to practitioners and researchers so that it can be used for improved integrated patient care and greatly expanded interdisciplinary research opportunities. The hospital's currently fragmented databases will be merged into a central MeDIC platform for this purpose.
When collecting and storing the data, the data protection regulations in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are observed. Data is only made available to external researchers if the patient has consented to the use of their data for research purposes. For more detailed information on the provision and use of data, see the Processes section.
Further information
What is Broad Consent?
The Broad Consent of the MII provides that the patient can agree to various modules of the Broad Consent. This includes consent to the use of pseudonymized patient data for research. The prerequisite for this is that the research project is conducted in countries that have a similar EU data protection level as the EU.
In addition, the patient can consent to being contacted by the university hospital about additional findings.
In addition, the patient can agree to be contacted for additional information.
In Heidelberg, it is not yet possible to obtain broad consent for biomaterials and health insurance data. Both are being sought.
Detailed information can be found in the following video.
Processes
How can I request data from MEDIC?
To request data from the MeDIC, please fill out the usage request form together with our checklist and send both to the e-mail address medic(at)med.uni-heidelberg.de. We recommend prior to the official request a consultation with us. Please also note our local terms of use (based on the overarching terms of use of the Medical Informatics Initiative) and the General Terms of Use and Contract (based on the General Terms of Use and Contract of the Medical Informatics Initiative).
What documents do I need to include with my request for data?
Please use the following documents to apply:
- To request data from the MeDIC, use the Request for Use form.
- Fill out our checklist.
- Enclosed you will still find the Terms of Use (based on the Broad Consent of the Medical Informatics Initiative) and the General Terms of Use and Contract (based on the General Terms of Use and Contract of the Medical Informatics Initiative).
For external requests based on Broad Consent, please include the following documents with the usage request:
- Ethics vote of the study for which you are requesting data.
- Study protocol referenced in the ethics vote of the study for which you wish to request data.
Who decides whether I recieve the requested data?
The Heidelberg Use & Access Committee decides on this in accordance with its rules of procedure.