A HEALTH (AND BEYOND) DATA LAKE IN LITHUANIA

Abstract

Every day, large quantities of data are collected in various state information systems. Historically, the rules governing access and use of this data for decision making, especially in the health area, were unclear and varied between institutions and countries. Lithuania has tackled these challenges, and now features a national data lake with an EU-leading technical infrastructure, >800 data sources, and legal pathways to use these safely for research, innovations and public policy. Hundreds of projects are using state data each year, from internal analyses to national dashboards on hospital service quality or vaccination coverage, open data releases for the public, or even high-level registry automatization.

Nonetheless, effective use of this resource will require good metadata, expanding data depth, and increasing data literacy and analysis competences throughout the health sector.