What defines secondary data in a healthcare context?

Secondary data in a healthcare context refers specifically to data that has been collected for purposes other than the original study or analysis. This commonly includes data extracted from health records, administrative databases, or public health datasets that were initially gathered for clinical, operational, or administrative reasons.

This type of data provides valuable insights because it can be re-analyzed to answer new research questions, support health policy decisions, or provide epidemiological insights without the need for new data collection efforts. By utilizing existing data, researchers and healthcare analysts can potentially save time and resources while still obtaining significant and relevant findings for their inquiries.

In contrast, the other choices refer to different data types or contexts: data collected directly from patients is typically classified as primary data; processed and analyzed data could pertain to either primary or secondary data but does not define secondary in itself; and raw data that has not been analyzed also does not meet the criteria for secondary data, as it has not been utilized beyond its initial collection.