‘Big Data’ has been a buzzword for much of the 21st Century, but its potential to transform outcomes across a range of diseases is yet to be fully realised.
Data is the bedrock of a quality health system and is essential for research-led improvements to clinical outcomes, which is why it’s such a priority for us and for Victoria.
Through our newly launched initiative, Data Connect, we have undertaken the largest ever primary care and hospital data linkage project in Australia, with more than 130 million medical records from GP and hospital visits now available to researchers to study the continuum of cancer care.
A project as complex and multi-faceted as this takes time, and I am personally so excited at the possibilities presented by bringing these different datasets together, including clinician-led data from registries, hospital and government datasets and particularly the linkage to primary care data.
In my view, part of our leadership for cancer outcomes globally in Victoria is because of the effectiveness of our primary care sector. Continuing to improve the relationships and collaborations between GPs, other primary care and the various parts of the healthcare sector is vital. In my role with the Australian Cancer Plan, we identified data as a critical component of the research foundations for our system planning to deliver the best possible cancer outcomes for all Australians.
I have enjoyed exploring the capabilities of the rapidly improving interactive chatbot from OpenAI, and I suspect you, like I, have been pleasantly surprised at the quality. The big question is beyond chatbots, how will we use AI to improve patient care?
We’re privileged to have Dr Dishan Herath as Chair of our Cancer Research Advisory Committee, who has a long history of interest in artificial intelligence and the applications of AI in cancer. At WEHI, Professor Tony Papenfuss, a computational cancer biologist and bioinformatics researcher, is now leading the institute’s AI and machine learning efforts.
The use of AI and machine learning has huge promise for image recognition and data analysis as well as personalised and precision medicine. The technology has already permeated many of our member organisations, and is used to determine patients’ acute lymphoblastic leukaemia subtype thanks to researchers from Peter Mac, the University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Children’s Cancer Institute, as well as improve and transform breast screening thanks to St Vincent’s Hospital and St Vincent’s Institute, conduct CT scan analysis for prostate cancer at St Vincent’s Hospital, and monitor foetal heartrate at the Royal Women’s Hospital.
Look no further than the explosion of publications examining AI’s application to cancer over the past four years and the technology is indisputably here to stay. I can see it being a real aid to our work across the alliance, and it will be a game-changer.
It was my great pleasure to attend the VCCC Alliance Leadership Academy Launch event in March, where we had the honour of hearing from two of Victoria’s most exceptional leaders: the Hon Jaala Pulford and Dr Stephen Parnis.
It was a privilege to hear their candid insights into what makes an effective leader (and importantly, what doesn’t), and a wealth of practical tips, anecdotes and key lessons gleaned from two stellar careers. The thing that stood out for me was how vulnerability can empower leadership, and I thought Stephen encapsulated this perfectly when he said: “Don’t let your leadership be defined by insecurity. If we are honest, we learn as much from our juniors as they do from us.”
WATCH: The Hon Jaala Pulford and Dr Stephen Parnis launch Leadership Academy
Jaala offered some inspiring personal insights into being bold and showing resilience, and she encouraged the room of aspiring and established leaders to “invest in one another and allow other people to invest in you”.
I look forward to Jaala’s continuing contributions to the cancer sector as a Board member of the Children’s Cancer Foundation as well as Chair of MTPConnect, which has been a long-time sponsor of our SKILLED Internship Program.
Finally, this week marks World Health Day, an annual day marking the founding of the World Health Organization 75 years ago. This year’s theme is Health For All, which aligns perfectly with the core values of the VCCC Alliance. As an organisation, delivering more equitable cancer care and outcomes for all is a key priority. You can explore the Health Equity section on our website to see the latest from our Health Equity team and how they are working to embed an equity lens across our programs of work.
Professor Grant McArthur
Executive Director
