Spring School: Information in Healthcare - From Data to Knowledge
Information in Healthcare - From Data to Knowledge
International Spring School 08.-12.05.2023
The international Spring School includes a week-long (5-day) series of interactive, face-to-face courses and a preliminary online preparation-phase. Case studies and problem-based learning will be used so you can interact and learn from other participants about eHealth systems and cultures across Europe and the importance of an interprofessional approach to the three topics.
The content of the Spring School will be taught by teachers from Germany, Finland, Portugal and the USA.
With the advent and diffusion of electronic health record systems a wealth of patient has become available. In principle, these data can now be shared among the relevant care provider to ensure continuity of care across shifts, departments, institutions, settings and countries. Furthermore, they can be analysed for secondary use particularly for generating new knowledge, for quality development and for management purposes such as resource management. While these new opportunities promise improvements at all levels there are barriers to put the new digital scenarios into practice.
Many digital patient data are hidden in pdf documents in an unstructured and not machine-readable way. They can be shared digitally among the providers but cannot be analysed without additional efforts. To this end, the data have to be structured, coded and classified according to standards that are common in the national and international community. Thus, in order to share data, the information systems have to ensure full interoperability.
Apart from the technical access to patient data through interoperable systems, there is the question of the legal foundation of accessing and sharing data. Patient data are personal data and highly sensitive. They are subject to data protection compliant with the European General Data Protection Regulation and other regulations, e.g. obligation to secrecy of health professionals. At the same time data must be securely managed so that they are integer, i.e. free from being manipulated or destroyed, and available for those who are entitled to access them.
Given the technical and legal accessibility of data, they can be shared and analysed. The opportunity to analyse data is strongly associated with the concept of a Learning Health System (LHS). An LHS is meant to support the generation of new knowledge including the verification of knowledge with local or regional data. Such new insights can be employed for quality management, process optimization, resource allocation and research. An LHS makes use of these findings by drawing conclusions and implementing change. This circumstance leads to new data that then can be further analysed and interpreted.
The aim of the Spring School is to gain insight into two main elements of digital health, i.e. interoperability and data protection/security so that secondary data analyses can be performed. Furthermore, it is the aim to develop a statistical model and hereby understand why data must be comparable and informed consent is imperative.
Three main topics will be covered during the Spring School, which include the following learning objectives:
Topic 1) Interoperability
Students understand the key elements of structural/semantic interoperability.
Students understand the main concepts of HL7 and apply them in a clinical case.
Topic 2) Data Protection and Security
Students understand the meaning of privacy, confidentiality, integrity and security for processing personal data.
Students are able to analyse these legal and ethical requirements and explain how they can be implemented.
Topic 3) Data Analytics
Students are able to develop a statistical prediction model using logistics regression.
Students are able to interpret the findings in terms of their applicability for clinical decision support.
This course is recommended to Master´s or PhD students in health care and professionals from nursing, physiotherapy, midwifery, medicine, and alike. We also invite students from health care management, health sciences, economics, law, engineering, informatics and computer science to this inter-disciplinary course.
Preliminary schedule (11.04.2023)

The Spring School will take place at the Faculty of Business Management and Social Sciences. The Faculty of Business Management and Social Sciences (WiSo) is the largest faculty of the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences with more than 5,000 students and 39 Bachelor's and Master's degree programs. The course offering ranges from Business Administration and Management to Health and Social Affairs, international degree programs and Public Management and Business Law.
Here you can find the campus map.



The City of Osnabrück
Osnabrück is the third largest city in Lower Saxony with a population of about 160,000. About 26,000 students shape the lively city. The City of Peace is located between the Wiehengebirge and the Teutoburg Forest. Small shops and large chain stores invite extensive shopping tours. Afterwards you can relax and wind down the day in the many cafés and student pubs in the downtown area and the beautiful old town. And the best part: Thanks to short distances, you can easily explore Osnabrück on foot or by bike. The green Osnabrück countryside is also within easy reach.



By train
Deutsche Bahn, the German Railway, and a number of private railways provide excellent connections from Hamburg/Bremen, the Ruhr- and the Rhine-Main region, Berlin/Hanover and from Amsterdam to Osnabrück. The central train station is "Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof" (central station). For train connections please check: bahn.de.
By plane
The nearest airport is FMO (Flughafen Münster/Osnabrück), which is situated about 30 km to the south of Osnabrück. From there it is easy to reach Osnabrück by public transport. Several shuttle services (e. g. express bus line X150) operate directly between the central city of Osnabrück and the airport.
The second closest airports are Bremen and Hanover Airport, which are situated about 130 km away from Osnabrück. Further airports that can be accessed conveniently are Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Amsterdam. Osnabrück can be reached best from these destinations by train.
By car
The A1, A30 and A33 motorways (Autobahn) lead to the Osnabrück region. Further important routes include the A roads 51, 68, 214 und 218.
To find your way to Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences take a look at the map of the campus.
Osnabrück currently has a wide variety of accommodation options, from the main hotel chains to hostels. You can check all the options at this link.
Participation is free of charge. The number of students for the course is limited. Applications are accepted until April 15, 2023. To register for the Spring School students must complete the Registration Form.
Contact
- Academic Lead
Prof. Dr. Ursula Hübner
E-Mail: u.huebner@hs-osnabrueck.de
- Coordination
Nicole Egbert, M.A.
E-Mail: n.egbert@hs-osnabrueck.de
The Spring School is embedded in the following projects: The Osnabrück Career Path to a Professorship at a University of Applied Sciences (CarLa), Future Skills.Applied and Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships


