Personal data in biomedical research.

The fundamental element of biomedical research is analysing the personal data of millions of people across the world. Recent rapid developments in digital health and other technical advances have facilitated the collection of all forms of data. It includes the data registered by health care and allied institutions, data recorded by people revealing their lifestyle and behavioural patterns, catalogued by social media and accessories such as smartwatches. These advances also assist in storing and sharing such data and its analyses. However, in the last few years, some serious concerns about the protection of patient privacy and the secondary use of personal data have been raised. Several legal initiatives specifically related to data protection have been brought into force to safeguard the privacy of the participant in biomedical research. On the other hand, these legal measures and concerns are deemed a potential hurdle for research by some health researchers. Therefore, in biomedical research, dealing with personal data along with adequate privacy protection and maintaining the researcher's scientific freedom is a double-edged sword. In this editorial, we have discussed several pertinent issues related to personal data, data protection and laws governing data sharing in biomedical research.