527 - Unlocking Health Data to support improved Population Health outcomes in Australia
Across Australia, discussions about improving health outcomes are shifting from the individual patient to the broader population.
This episode of Talking HealthTech explores the challenges and opportunities in unlocking health data to support better public health, drawing on expertise from Telstra Health and Smile Digital Health .
By examining the current state, the potential role of centralised data repositories, and how international models inform local progress, a clear message emerges: well-connected, secure data can transform the Australian healthcare landscape.
This episode is part three of a 4-part series by Talking HealthTech in collaboration with Telstra Health and Smile Digital Health called Connected Care: Bridging Gaps in Modern Healthcare.
What is Population Health?
Population health refers to the health outcomes of groups of people, considering broader factors that influence wellbeing. Practically, it means looking beyond what’s happening with a single patient and asking: How many people in a community or region have a specific chronic condition? Are rates of infectious diseases rising or falling? Which groups are most at risk, and why?
Analysing population health data is about using information - from diagnoses and GP visits to prescriptions and hospital outcomes - to spot trends, measure success, and plan smarter. “We ask these questions to inform things like healthcare policy,” said Elizabeth Rannaleet , Head of Insights and Data at Telstra Health. “It informs better policy, better health care.”
Yet for such questions to be answered accurately, the underlying data must be timely, comprehensive, and joined-up. Governments and health services rely on these insights, from workforce planning to funding health programs. When data is fragmented or weeks out of date, communities miss out on early interventions and tailored care.
Fragmented Data: The Stumbling Block for Public Health
Australia’s healthcare data landscape remains patchy and siloed. Unlike an ideal scenario where a patient’s story is seamlessly updated across every provider, the reality is often a fragmented puzzle.
Data is scattered: GPs and specialist clinics keep one set of records, while pharmacies keep another. Information flows sluggishly between systems, and real-time updates are rare. Even information about a medication dispensed by a pharmacy doesn’t always make its way into the general practice record.
This fragmentation impacts more than just the individual patient. Public health programs – vital for disease screening, immunisation campaigns, and early intervention – struggle to target the right communities without a consolidated view. As Dr Matt Burton, Lead Physician Informatician at Smile Digital Health, reflected: “Even within a given hospital or health system, you still have systems that don’t fully share their data.” The problem is both local and widespread.
Government-funded programmes, national screening initiatives, and preventive care depend on large-scale visibility. Without it, decision-makers are flying blind, unable to anticipate where resources are most needed. This deficiency also stymies research, limiting our understanding of which interventions really work.
Why A Centralised Population Health Repository Matters
Imagine if every primary healthcare provider, hospital, and pharmacy fed securely into a well-governed, permissioned data repository. Clinicians would spend less time asking patients to repeat their history; policymakers would see up-to-date trends; and researchers could analyse real-world outcomes with confidence.
The benefits would be immediate and long-lasting. “They need to have that information in a timely way to inform the decisions they’re making about policy,” Elizabeth said. Without connected data, routine workforce planning, like predicting the need for diabetes specialists, becomes guesswork rather than evidence-led.
Centralising health data also enables rapid public health responses to outbreaks or shifts in chronic disease patterns. It unlocks the full value of information already collected by government-funded programmes. “A lot of the benefit of having information together, it happens at a consumer level or a patient level,” Matt stressed, “but it all aggregates up to better health outcomes at a global level.”
Building Trust: Security, Consent and Public Confidence
While the technology exists to enable secure data sharing, public trust remains paramount. Australians are rightfully cautious with personal health information. Any shift towards greater integration must happen within robust governance frameworks, with clarity around consent and strict access controls.
“Historically, we’ve been quite cautious as individuals about sharing information and especially our health information,” Elizabeth acknowledged. “There’s an element to messaging and being clear about what those security features mean.”
It’s about balancing the immense value of securely shared data with the absolute necessity of protecting privacy. International models, such as trusted health information exchanges in the United States, highlight how third-party stewardship and role-based access can build confidence alongside utility. “It’s literally a trusted third party, right, that is managing that data. It’s not one hospital system just took everybody else’s data. It’s not even one governmental entity,” Matt noted.
The Role of Standards in Realising Population Health
A robust digital infrastructure underpins any population health solution. Open standards, particularly HL7 FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources), have become essential for making data not just accessible, but useful across diverse systems.
FHIR is not just about connecting databases. It allows meaning to travel with data - diagnosis codes, clinical insights, and context. This makes it possible to generate automated analytics and ensure clinically relevant real-time information. “There’s a lot that the clinicians tend to do often in their heads,” said Matt. Calculating a BMI or an eGFR, or looking at disease progression. FHIR enables us to apply logic and share those insights and the raw data.
With standardisation, clinicians, hospitals, researchers, and government agencies can all access the same up-to-date truths. Secure, permissioned sharing becomes the default, rather than a complicated exception. Consistent coding unlocks everything from early warning systems for outbreaks to targeted interventions for chronic disease.
Longitudinal Data: Seeing the Whole Health Journey
While snapshots and quarterly updates can reveal broad trends, the most powerful insights come from following individuals over time. Longitudinal data tracks a person’s health journey from diagnoses, medications, care episodes, and outcomes, from birth to advanced age.
This cumulative perspective is indispensable for population analytics. Patterns emerge: the progression of chronic disease, the effectiveness of interventions, and the impact of social determinants. “We can really start to do some of this longitudinal analysis of understanding what happens to a patient over their lifetime,” Elizabeth explained.
For clinicians, having this complete history supports better care. For researchers and policymakers, it enables properly targeted public health measures, helps evaluate what works, and drives improvements in prevention. The prospect of securely connecting these records, while maintaining privacy, feels more achievable than ever.
From Global Lessons to Local Action
Australian healthcare is hardly alone in facing data fragmentation. Countries like the United States have grappled with similar challenges, often learning the hard way about the risks and costs of islands of information.
Matt shared that if somebody travels from one state to another state, or from one town to another town, that data doesn’t follow them. You still find a lot of manual processes. However, international models also show what progress is possible with collective commitment. Regional health information exchanges, enforced interoperability standards, and payer-provider data sharing rules all point to ways Australia can leapfrog patchwork fixes.
But context matters. Australian policies, privacy laws, and public sentiment must shape the local approach. Australia can learn from international models, but it needs local infrastructure that aligns with national policies and trust frameworks.
The Human Factor: Bringing Patients and Clinicians Along
Even with the best systems, success depends on bringing people along as data subjects and users. Clinicians need tools that save time and reduce repetition, not systems that add administrative burden. For patients, there needs to be clear benefits such as faster care, fewer repeat questions, and better support for complex needs.
Elizabeth offered a relatable scenario: “As a parent, you’re sitting there thinking, ‘This is delaying my child getting the care they need,’” as yet another staff member asks for details already shared. Integrated data fixes these delays, freeing up time for the patient-clinician connection that drives trust and satisfaction.
For the public, clear and consistent messaging about data security, consent, and the personal and community benefits of population health are paramount. Trust grows as the benefits of better-connected systems become visible in everyday healthcare.
Taking Action for Australia’s Health
The promise of population health data is not science fiction; it’s within reach. Powerful computational tools, evolving technical standards, and growing public awareness all point towards a future where information fuels proactive, targeted, and equitable care.
As momentum builds, small-scale, problem-first projects can demonstrate what’s possible, making the case for more significant investments over time. “There is definitely a lot of work to be done now, and we’re starting to do it,” Elizabeth says.
Population Health Data: Tool for a Stronger, Smarter Health System
Australia sits at a crossroads. By connecting health data securely and thoughtfully, the country can empower clinicians, patients, and policymakers with the insights needed for more effective, efficient, and patient-centred care. The groundwork is being laid, as leaders like Telstra Health and Smile Digital Health help create the necessary infrastructure and guide best practice.
The push for population health data is not about centralising control, but about unleashing the power of information, always with consent, trust, and public benefit at the centre. The opportunity is evident as the digital health ecosystem matures: a system where proactive, data-driven decisions lead to healthier communities, smarter prevention, and improved lives.
About Smile Digital Health:
Smile Digital Health is a FHIR®-first health data solutions company that provides the most advanced platform for managing and exchanging healthcare data. Smile helps healthcare organizations drive better patient outcomes, improve operational efficiency, and foster deeper collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem. Our enterprise-grade, open framework data platform drives data unification, enrichment, and elevation while ensuring compliance with industry mandates. We equip healthcare providers, payers, researchers, and life sciences organizations for a connected future beyond legacy systems, unlocking new value through the intelligent use of information, and creating #BetterGlobalHealth overall. For more information, visit SmileDigitalHealth.com or on LinkedIn.
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Telstra Health provides technology solutions that connect healthcare providers with patients and each other.
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