How has big data changed healthcare?
Healthcare institutions have been compiling massive amounts of data for decades, storing it away for future use. The future is now, because all that data is finally being put to good use! Analysis of big data can be used for many things in the healthcare industry, from improving patient health outcomes to preventing hospital waste. It’s about time all that data was put to good use!
One way in which big data is being used to improve patient care is through analysis of previous patient outcomes. This helps providers know when they should intervene early to improve future patient outcomes. It also helps to have complete data on a patient when deciding which problems to be on the lookout for.
Clinical trials are also enhanced with the use of big data analysis. Looking at info available from other sources can, in some cases, increase the population size for a study to make it more statistically meaningful.
Patient outcomes are not the only positive thing being affected by big data analysis. Hospital waste is also able to be brought under control with careful analysis of the available data. There are many ways in which all this data can be put to good use, and it’s time for big data to pull its weight in the healthcare industry!
Featured image courtesy of Free Stock Photos/Public Health Image Library
Infographic courtesy of eVariant
