Privacy Analytics - IQVIA builds privacy protection into its processes to serve pharma clients (2024)

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IQVIA builds privacy protection into its processes to serve pharma clients

Privacy Analytics helps IQVIA’s primary market research drive business value

  • Case Studies
  • Data Value OptimizationGDPRHealth DataReputation Management

IQVIA is a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and contract research services to the life sciences industry. IQVIA’s Primary Intelligence business helps pharmaceutical companies answer key business questions that drive drug innovation and new revenue streams.

IQVIA Primary Intelligence engages in extensive primary market research (PMR) with surveys that collect reams of data. Much of this data is about patients and is thus highly sensitive.

Ensuring individual privacy and preventing any one patient from being identified from their data is critical. IQVIA employs its own internal policies around data privacy and must also comply with a growing number of privacy regulations being instituted around the world.

The Background

Privacy regulation creates new compliance requirements

One such regulation is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), implemented in Europe in 2018. GDPR established a new ruleset for processingthe personal dataofindividualsin the EU. This regulation had a significant impact on primary market research in the pharma business because the health information gathered is so sensitive.

GDPR stipulates that patient health data is subject to special protection and demands that it be treated with sensitivity. Few patients want to explain their medical condition to the public, even if it is not a sensitive condition. In some cases, the damage can be serious and measurable, such as when a data privacy breach reveals to the management of an airline company that a pilot has been treated for depression for the last three years.

“Privacy Analytics has equipped us to continue serving our pharma clients efficiently while meeting regulatory requirements and building trust with our key stakeholders,”

Charlotte Langtved,

VP and General Manager, IQVIA

The Challenge

Ensuring privacy requires specialized expertise and solutions

Even when patient health data is aggregated and sensitive information removed, there is still a chance that a patient in the aggregated data could be identified. As a rule, physicians completing a market research survey are not allowed to provide any company (such as IQVIA) with identifiable (or re-identifiable) patient data. Doctors must be sure that information provided to IQVIA researchers remains in line with the law and the ethical requirements of their profession.

A number of factors can make patient identification possible. These include excessive data collection, inclusion of the precise dates of hospital admissions and treatments, and questions that lead to the collection of outliers. Patients are also more likely to be identified when the population is small (as is the case with populations of rare disease patients) and the data is linked to external data sources.

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The Solution

Driving business value by protecting privacy

To ensure compliance with regulations such as GDPR and to fulfill its own internal policies around privacy protection, IQVIA Primary Intelligence turned to IQVIA company Privacy Analytics.

Privacy Analytics has a team of over 100 experts who advise clients daily on even the most complex business challenges related to sensitive data. This deep expertise and experience was honed by assessing and anonymizing thousands of datasets over 14 years in business.

IQVIA wanted Privacy Analytics to develop a solution that would provide end-to-end patient anonymity in its primary intelligence business and PMR processes. What made this initiative challenging is that PMR methods and questionnaires can vary significantly across a range of diseases with different levels of prevalence, and across geographies and regulatory jurisdictions.

In every client engagement, Privacy Analytics works side by side with the client organization to gain a comprehensive understanding of its business, its client base, data stakeholders, and the regulatory or business environment in which it operates. Privacy Analytics also looks carefully at how data is handled by the client and for which purpose.

This understanding results in a tailored engagement model and solution that is aligned with the needs of each client. Privacy Analytics’ methodology and expertise ensures that the privacy of people represented in sensitive datasets is protected while preserving the utility or research value of the data. Context matters and varies with each client.

“Privacy Analytics provided us with reliable business guidance to help our pharma clients safely innovate with sensitive information to drive greater advances in patient health,” said Charlotte Langtved, VP and General Manager at IQVIA.

In addition, Privacy Analytics developed easy-to-use, robust, and flexible technologies and provided training in their use. The IQVIA Primary Intelligence team can now assess, measure, and assure patient privacy on its own when designing any PMR study.

The Result

Achieving compliance, upholding ethical standards, earning trust

Thanks to Privacy Analytics, IQVIA Primary Intelligence is thinking prospectively and building privacy into its processes to help its clients safely accelerate drug innovation. This anchors its entire business model and creates a strong foundation for future growth.

Researchers are now able to reduce the chance they will unintentionally gather re-identifiable information about patients without their consent when health-care professionals provide patient record forms. In cases where direct patient questionnaires are very detailed, researchers can ensure projects are designed to reduce the likelihood of patient re-identification.

“Privacy Analytics has equipped us to continue serving our pharma clients efficiently while meeting regulatory requirements and building trust with our key stakeholders,” said Langtved. “We now have a PMR process that is fully compliant with GDPR, that is auditable and defensible, and that also upholds the highest ethical standards of the healthcare profession.”

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Privacy Analytics - IQVIA builds privacy protection into its processes to serve pharma clients (2024)

FAQs

What does privacy analytics do? ›

Privacy Analytics enables business and healthcare leaders to deploy transformative data privacy solutions. With proven technology and unmatched expertise, we'll empower your organization to gain new insight from its most sensitive data, while alleviating privacy concerns throughout your data life cycle.

Who are the clients of IQVIA? ›

Customers of IQVIA
CustomersEmployee RangeCity
Novartis AG10,000+Basel
ConvaTec Group plc5,000 - 9,999Reading
University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust1,000 - 4,999Bristol
Sanofi10,000+Paris
6 more rows

What is data privacy data analytics? ›

Data privacy, often termed as information privacy, revolves around the proper handling, processing, storage, and usage of data. It's not just about keeping data safe, but ensuring that it's used responsibly and ethically.

What is the main goal of data privacy? ›

Data privacy is the protection of personal data from those who should not have access to it and the ability of individuals to determine who can access their personal information.

What is IQVIA in pharma? ›

IQVIA is the result of the 2016 merger of Quintiles, a leading global contract research organization, and IMS Health, a leading healthcare data and analytics provider The name of the modern company honors the legacy organizations. IQVIA: I (IMS Health), Q (Quintiles), and VIA (by way of).

What data does IQVIA collect? ›

The IQVIA Oncology database collects EMR data from oncology practices and hospitals to connect diagnoses, clinical staging, diagnostics, vitals, and treatments to understand the patient journey by line of therapy for specific sub-types of cancers.

What does IQVIA actually do? ›

IQVIA is a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry.

What does a privacy analyst do? ›

Role overview. A Privacy Analyst manages the legal and operational risks around sensitive and critical information assets by assessing business operations on a continual basis, developing the right policies, procedures, and training programs, and overseeing all data agreements.

What does the privacy report tell you? ›

What is App Privacy Report? With iOS 15.2 or later and iPadOS 15.2 or later, you can turn on App Privacy Report to see details about how often apps access your data — like your location, camera, microphone, and more.

What is the purpose of a privacy program? ›

A well-managed privacy program helps to embed privacy into the overall business practices of the organization and can serve many functions including maintaining quality and value of data, enhancing brand reputation, meeting consumer expectations, safeguarding data against attacks and threats, meeting the expectations ...

What does the privacy function do? ›

exchange of information while ensuring that all privacy concerns, requirements, and responsibilities are addressed. Ensures that data breach notification policies and mitigation procedures are adequate and followed in the event of a data security breach.

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