Faster, more comprehensive answers to Australia’s most pressing health questions are now within the grasp of researchers following the launch of SURE, the Secure Unified Research Environment.
SURE is a secure computing environment designed specifically for health researchers to access, store and rapidly analyse anonymised health information brought together from sources such as hospitals, cancer registries, clinical trials, general practice, and research studies.
Developed by the Sax Institute with Federal and State Government funding, SURE was officially launched in Sydney on Thursday 5 July 2012 by Senator Matt Thistlethwaite.
Senator Thistlethwaite described SURE as a tool with “huge potential” to make a difference to the Australian community and and one that would lead to Australia improving its position as a leading research nation in the field of data linkage.
The launch was attended by more than 90 people from around Australia, including directors of health and research institutes, policy makers and linked data researchers, who heard about SURE’s potential to change Australia’s population health landscape and the history of data linkage in this country.
Addressing the launch, NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer Professor Mary O’Kane said SURE’s innovative approach was something the rest of the world should know about.
“I can’t emphasise enough the importance of large-scale infrastructure like this facility for the purpose of collaborative, multidisciplinary research and the consequent impacts on innovation and productivity,” she said.
“It is a very practical, very useful thing that will touch all our lives.”
Find out more
- Download the media release (PDF 66KB)
- See media coverage of the launch
- Download the fact sheet What is linked health data? (PDF 69KB)
PUBLICATION DATE
20 November 2012
