In big data #1, we discussed what big data is, its history and what areas it can be visible…In this article, we will be covering the role big data play in health care.
In the healthcare system, the large amount of data are coming in on daily basis.
The efficient use of this data would save millions of lives, not only for “Today” but for the “Future” as well. The coming in of big data in healthcare would be used to prescribe how individuals should live in order to prevent premature death, cure diseases, predict epidemics, cure cancer and also upcoming disease. Note: As the world comes to an end, new diseases will surely rise. Further, as population increases, new models of treatment are increasing and behind it, data can be a force driving new models. What is the drive all about?
The drive is to understand more about the patient as much as possible, especially in their early stages in life. Getting all required information about their health challenges from the moment they step their feet into the world. Getting to the realization of their health challenges would make it easy for the treatment of the patient rather than the possibility of the latter circumstance.
Getting Started with Big data
Modern times have driven us into a smart world...Thus, gathering data from away daily lifestyle is no more a problem. With application made available in our smartphones, healthcare data can be gathered. With application which includes a pedometer, which measures the distance we cover a day and steps we take and calorie counters which help us to streamline the type of food to take daily. In relation, new wearable devices have been invented to track the progress of an individual then shared across to friend s and family.
These application and devices are made available to shape health challenges faced by humans. With them, data are gathered that can be used for the benefit of individuals.
In future, individuals can be able to share data with their doctor who will use it to diagnose if there is any health issue or whatsoever. Even if there is no symptoms or disease, huge amount of data would have been gathered in order to prevent future occurrences of health problems. With the existence of data gathered from different geographical area worldwide, identification of health problems would be easy in the future. This trend would give great insight into genetic issues and lifestyle of individuals.
Areas Big Data is involved
Electronic Health Records
This application Is the fast-growing technology in the field of big data. In this application of big data, each patient has his or her own digital record. This digital record regarding an individual contains demographic, laboratory test result, medical history information etc. Moreso, the usage of secured information system helps information to be shared among health sectors. The records are modifiable, especially when a change has been made in the health status of a patient.
Furthermore, EHRs has the capability of triggering warnings to the patient whenever there is a need for a laboratory test in case the patient forgets the time and date of the appointment. Tracking prescriptions are also included in EHRs systems to know if the patient actually follows the prescription of the doctor. However, most developing country are finding it difficult to implement this technology because it deals with communication and networking which different countries would hopefully get acquited within the forthcoming years.
Predictive Analytics In Health System
In business, trending is predictive analytics in business intelligence which can be used to make a fast and urgent decision. Predictive analysis can be done with the use of data gathered from patient through EHRs, with each record stored in the database.
One of the important role predictive analytics play is to help doctors make big insightful decisions within few seconds and to improve efficiency when treating a patient. This is technology is suitable especially for patients that have complex medical issues.
The efficient analyzation of different structured and unstructured data from different sources directs big data to accuracy when a patient is diagnosed. Data gathered from EHRs can be used for predictive modeling which can then be used for an early diagnosis on what can reduce the mortality of any individual. For example, congestive heart failure is noted for its high cost in treatment, if it is diagnosed in an earlier stage, then a better treatment would be given to the patient.
Real-time Monitoring and Alerting
The specifics in real-time alerting is important in healthcare. Clinical decision support software makes the analysis of medical data and provides advice to medical practitioners. New healthcare wearables have been provided to collect the data regarding individuals and sends this information to the cloud. This data is sent to the database of the health center generally.
This will enable the doctor to look into the symptom and compare it with socioeconomic information in order to deliver the possible solution for the symptom. Data streaming would be done and necessary response will be given to the patient.
An example is if the blood pressure of a patient increases suddenly, an alert would be sent immediately in real time to the hospital or to the doctor. This would give the doctor information about the patient and a quick response would be administered to the patient.
Issues With Big Data In Healthcare
Security
Security is one thing that everyone wants to achieve when dealing with data. Though there are tight security measures used in securing the data of a patient but some patient would not like their data to go into the hands of the wrong person. If the hospital would grant access to just a few data scientist, it would be better.
However if the patient's record would be accessed by various people, then security would not be trusted.
Big data needs security in order to be trusted by individuals. Healthcare organization should endeavor to make security a huge priority hence it is an open source technology. When selecting a vendor, security considerations need to be effectively looked into.
Technology Know-How
The usage of big data requires a specialized skill. Basic knowledge of SQL programming language doesn’t give the technical know-how on how to analyze big data.
In the phase of big data in healthcare and other disciplines, data scientists need to be available and are well trained in order to give accurate information when data is being analyzed. Though data scientists don’t come handy because they are hard to find and are expensive. However, thanks for the internet because in the future, individuals will develop skill in this area.
Conclusion
The future of big data is something one cannot fully explain because the massive data collected from individuals would be used for an exploit in science. As explained above about the applications for diet and wearables that check your health progress daily, why not check out these applications and see how beneficial it would be in the future. Remember, the data you save today might save a life tomorrow.
Thanks for reading:
I want to thank God for this opportunity to talk about technology to my fellow stemians and I want to appreciate my Mentor on steemit @abigial-dantes (who welcomed me, gave me guidelines on how steemit and steemstem works) and I want to appreciate my dear friend @gentleshaid ( I can say he is a blessing to this generation).
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