What is Big data in Healthcare?
Big data in Healthcare means the use of big data for the development of the healthcare system. Big data is massively helpful where traditional data processing is unable to analyze the enormous amount of data for processing. Massive amounts of data in Healthcare are analyzed in order to minimize the risk of epidemics, cure disease, reduce cost, etc.
Why is Big data important?
Big data in Healthcare can significantly improve the quality of Healthcare. Due to digitalization, a massive amount of complex clinical and physical data of patients is stored in the System, which too vast for normal processing. That is where big data come handy as it is capable of analyzing those data and increase the quality of Healthcare with more personalized care.
5 Significant Examples of Big Data in Healthcare
- Identifying High-Risk Patients
There are a large number of patients that are using emergency on a persistent basis, which leads to a higher healthcare cost but not preferably increases the care of the patient? It is possible to identify high-risk patients by using predictive data analytics, which would ensure the lesser emergency visit of the patient and can ensure more personalized based care for patients of high risk.
- Preventing Medication Errors
Humans are prone to occasional errors. People make mistakes; the care provider is not any different from that. Due to the enormous workload, it is sometimes possible to suggest the wrong medication to patients, which can lead to severe harm and even death. The use of big data can minimize the risk of error by analyzing the patient record and medical history, which would flag anything not matched up with the patient’s medication and complication history.
Electronic Health Care has the most widespread use in the healthcare system. Almost every patient has its digital record, including medical history, allergies, medicinal history, laboratory tests, etc. The healthcare industry can probably save up to billions of dollars by adopting EHR. EHR makes it much easier for care providers to access the patient’s data. EHR is most helpful as it can warn and remind patients when to take a new test or track prescription as if the patient is following care providers’ orders. Healthcare Industry is lowly adopting EHR, which is a big deal for big data.
- Finding Cure of Diseases
A specific medicine seems to work for some patients as well as it may not be as responsive to other patients. Therapeutic responses can be different for patients. Big data can be useful for examining all the hidden patterns for developing a better cure for diseases for patients. A large amount of data analysis can result in the modification of new medicine, which would be efficient for treating patients. Medicine development also requires a lot of research on data for generating a new medicine; big data can be very effective in medical research.
- Big Data in Cancer Research
Big data has vast potential in cancer research. Medical researchers can use the massive amount of cancer patient data of treatment and recovery to utilize the best effective treatment process. Cancer research is extensive as there are several types of cancer and a significant amount of data in cancer research to analyze. Big data has already started a huge change in understanding cancer, leading to better and accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.
Big data has already started playing a big role in cancer research, and it is expected to help medical researchers to find a better and more effective treatment for cancer, which is giving us a glimpse of better Healthcare with more efficient cancer treatment.
Challenges of Big Data in Healthcare
The biggest challenge of Big data in Healthcare is security. The digitalization of data comes with a higher risk of being stolen or hacked. As data are stored on servers, it is of immense importance to secure the data. Sensitive information on personal health care is of super importance to be stored with maximum security.
Another risk of Big data in Healthcare is privacy. Extreme cautions should be taken to ensure the privacy of patient data. Control over the data is a relatively important aspect of data privacy.
Future of Big Data
The future of Big data holds huge potential. It has been creating enormous buzz for the past couple of years. Although the healthcare industry did not show much enthusiasm, it has already started to take the pace with it. Many of the country’s healthcare system has started adopting Big Data for the betterment and more efficiency of their treatment system. There is certainly a lot in the future of Big data in Healthcare.
Cons of Big data in Healthcare
Well, the benefits of big data are massive for the healthcare industry where there are some cons of it too. The cons are mostly the challenges of lack of privacy, and security is the biggest problem in big data. Ensuring the proper safety of the data can lead the big data in an impeccable condition as it promises a lot of great features.
Conclusion
Big data is gaining massive interest in Healthcare as more companies and investors are eyeing this sector. The use of Big data is going to increase at an exponential rate as it promises to yield a significant result. The quality of the healthcare system is going to increase undoubtedly. A more personalized based care for the more serious patients, error-free medication, glimpse of hope in deadly disease research are some significant application of Big Data.
We can hope for a better and more efficient healthcare system in the upcoming future. Healthcare is an important part of our life as medical support holds the greatest importance, and we can certainly gain better support as Healthcare is pacing up with the adoption of new technology, and Big data is one of them. Healthcare will be more advanced, safe, and efficient with the help of Big Data synchronization in the System.