On the importance of intellectual property rights for e-science and the integrated health record.
D'Agostino G., Hinds C., Jirotka M., Meyer C., Piper T., Rahman M., Vaver D.
An integrated health record (IHR) that enables clinical data to be shared at a national level has profound implications for medical research. Data that have been useful primarily within a single clinic will instead be free to move rapidly around a national network infrastructure. This raises challenges for technologists, clinical practice, and for the governance of these data. This article considers one specific issue that is currently poorly understood: how intellectual property (IP) relates to the sharing of medical data for research on large-scale electronic networks. Based on an understanding of current practices, this article presents recommendations for the governance of IP in an integrated health record.