title: "Big data" versus "big brother": on the appropriate use of large-scale data collections in pediatrics.
abstract: Discussions of "big data" in medicine often revolve around gene sequencing and biosamples. It is perhaps less recognized that administrative data in the form of vital records, hospital discharge abstracts, insurance claims, and other routinely collected data also offer the potential for using information from hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people to answer important questions. However, the increasing ease with which such data may be used and reused has increased concerns about privacy and informed consent. Addressing these concerns without creating insurmountable barriers to the use of such data for research is essential if we are to avoid a "missed opportunity" in pediatrics research.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health and Wellbeing, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, 316 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. jcurrie@princeton.edu
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Currie
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information / Q000941:ethics*; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics*; D003219:Confidentiality / Q000941:ethics*; D003625:Data Collection / Q000941:ethics*; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000941:ethics*; D011996:Records
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2011 Aug 25;365(8):683-5
references.pmid: 21774703
references.citation: Lancet. 2010 Sep 18;376(9745):984-90
references.pmid: 20691469
references.citation: Am J Public Health. 2009 Sep;99(9):1673-9
references.pmid: 19608957
references.citation: Nature. 2012 Jun 20;486(7403):312-4
references.pmid: 22722173
references.citation: Epidemiology. 2011 Nov;22(6):815-22
references.pmid: 21918455
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2009 Apr;123(4):e622-9
references.pmid: 19336353