Big data could improve health care

The health care industry has seen a spike in technology and big data through the last decade, Health Affairs reported. Everything from diagnostic images, lab results, and medical records to biometric information are all created and then put into digital form for storage.

The massive amount of data has helped the health care industry collect enough information to help with more clinical decision-making processes. According to the source, the big data movement allows physicians to search more easily through patient records and give more thoughtful advice for better outcomes.

John Halamka, a physician and a leader in technology that focuses on health care data, explained the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s progress has been able to “turn all of the collected data into actionable wisdom,” the source reported.

Medical experts believe big data can be used to improve care and reduce the medical costs, Information Week reported.

“We, as a society, need to start creating our own metrics for how healthcare quality is defined,” said Dr. Anil Jain, the senior vice president and chief medical officer at Explorys, according to the source. “In the sense of looking at costs, we know where there’s avoidable cost in healthcare. We just need to get folks the data they need to avoid those pitfalls.”