Best Scientists 2
Big data in the medical industry is about to get even bigger as a result of the move toward electronic medical reports. Electronic medical records are acquiring a boost because of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. As such, medical researchers can expect a huge influx of healthcare data to analyze.
The scientific community is abuzz about the prospect of big data in the medical research arena. Based on Science 2.0, a science blog, several 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 5 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 effect on total healthcare spending in the nation. This is a great example of the Pareto principle at work.
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 also be used to enhance the triage process by applying algorithms to send patients to the correct unit for care and ensuring that everybody involved with providing that care is promptly informed throughout the process.
Decompensation - Decompensation refers to a patient's worsening health condition. Patient monitoring tools such as heart-rate and blood pressure monitors are used to measure a quality patient care's current condition. Using big data, researchers might be better able to determine the risk of decompensation, allowing healthcare providers to intervene prior to the patient's condition worsens.
Adverse events - Nobody wishes to suffer from an adverse health event such as infection, a drug reaction, or renal failure. These events often bring about 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 be better able to predict the likely progression of a disease which, sequentially, would help healthcare providers develop a more effective, and more cost-effective, plan for treatment.
While these areas all represent significant opportunities for medical researchers and also the medical sector at large, how can researchers possibly make sense of all that data? As outlined by Dolphin, "Big Data relates to the 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 through the usage of business intelligence and data archiving software. With the correct tools in hand, medical researchers have the ability to make feeling of the sheer volumes of healthcare data from the past, present, and future.
