Quality Scientists 2

Big data in the medical industry will be close to to get even bigger thanks to the move toward electronic medical records. Electronic medical records are receiving a boost as a result of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Consequently, medical researchers may anticipate a massive influx of healthcare data to analyze.

The scientific community is abuzz about the potential for big data in the medical research arena. In accordance with Science 2.0, a science blog, some of the clearest opportunities recently identified in this area revolve around reducing costs in several key areas:

High-cost patients - Did you know that just five percent of patients account for roughly half of all US healthcare costs? By targeting these high-cost patients, big data has the potential to make a big influence on total healthcare spending in the united states. This really is a great example of the Pareto principle at the workplace.

Readmissions - With nearly one third of readmissions deemed to be preventable, using big data to predict which patients are at a high risk of readmission could lead to better interventions and reduced re-admissions.

Triage - Big data could be also used to enhance the triage process by applying algorithms to send patients to the correct unit for care and ensuring that everybody involved in providing that care is promptly informed throughout the process.

Decompensation - Decompensation refers to a patient's worsening health condition. Patient monitoring tools for example heart-rate and blood pressure monitors are used to measure a patient's current condition. Using big data, researchers might be better able to determine the risk of decompensation, quality researcher allowing healthcare providers to intervene prior to the patient's condition worsens.

Adverse events - No-one desires to suffer from an adverse health event such as infection, a drug reaction, or renal failure. These events often contribute to death, yet are often preventable. Big data could make huge gains in both preventing adverse events and slashing their associated costs.

Diseases affecting multiple organ systems - Systemic diseases that affect multiple organ systems are among-the costliest to treat and manage. Using big data, medical researchers could possibly be better able to predict the likely progression of a disease which, in return, would help healthcare providers develop a more effective, and more cost-effective, course of action.

While these areas all represent significant opportunities for medical researchers and the health care industry at large, how can researchers possibly make experience of all that data? As outlined by Dolphin, "Big Data relates to the very fact that today's business intelligence systems are experiencing record levels of data growth from terabytes to petabytes and beyond. The challenge is in maximizing the opportunity for real-time business intelligence while minimizing the impact of exploding data volume on productivity and total cost of ownership (TCO)."

This really is done throughout the use of business intelligence and data archiving software. With the proper tools in hand, medical researchers possess the ability to make sense of the sheer volumes of healthcare data from the past, present, and future.