Data linkage multiplies research insights across diverse healthcare sectors

In all fields of study, as well as government and commerce, high-quality data enables informed decision-making. Linking data from disparate sources multiplies the opportunities for novel insights and evidence-based decision-making for an increasingly large range of administrative, clinical, research, and population health use cases. In recent years, novel methods, including privacy-preserving record linkage methods, have emerged. However, regardless of the method, successful data linkage is highly dependent on data quality and completeness and has to be balanced by the increased risk of re-identification of the subsequently linked data. Opportunities for the future include sharing tools for responsible linkage across silos, enhancing data to improve quality and completeness, and ensuring linkage leverages inclusive and representative datasets to ensure a balance between individual privacy and representation in research and novel discoveries. Here we provide a brief overview of the history and current state of data linkage, highlight the opportunities created by linked population data across critical research sectors, and describe the technology and policies that govern its usage.