Big Data Examples
Health care organizations today contend with data from EHRs, internal databases, data warehouses, as well as the availability of data from the growing volume of other health-related sources, such as diagnostic imaging equipment, aggregated pharmaceutical research, social media, and personal devices such as Fitbits and other wearable technologies. No longer is the data needed to support health care decisions located within the organization or any single data source. As we begin to manage populations and care con tinuums we have to bring together data from hospitals, physician practices, long-term care facilities, the patient, and so on. These data needs are bigger than the data needs we had (and still have) when we focused primarily on inpatient care.
Big data is a practice that is applied to a wide range of uses across a wide range of industries and efforts, including health care. There is no single big data product, application, or technology, but big data is broadening the range of data that may be important in caring for patients. For instance, in the case of Alz heimer’s and other chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer, online social sites not only provide a support community for like-minded patients but also contain knowledge that can be mined for public health research, medication use monitoring, and other health-related activities. Moreover, popular social networks can be used to engage the public and monitor public perception and response during flu epidemics and other public health threats.
