The healthcare market size clocked an estimation of $9.36 billion (2017) in North America. Projections also indicate future growth by 2025 with an estimate of $34.16 billion, a clear indication that big data plays an important role in healthcare. The main role of big data is analyzing vast information from multiple sources to reveal leads such as market trends, patient preferences, and unknown correlations.

Big data is an imperative tool that enables organizations to make better decisions and gain insights into their patients’ needs and behaviors. It is also a powerful tool that can be used to improve patient outcomes and healthcare delivery through more accurate diagnoses and treatments.

Although big data analytics help organizations venture and garner information in the healthcare industry, they also have some notable downsides. Read on to understand more about big data, its benefits, and challenges in healthcare.

What is Big Data?

Big data involves garnering, analyzing, and leveraging clinical data from numerous sources. Such information cannot be collected and interpreted by conventional means. Data scientists utilize machine learning to process healthcare big data which is strategic in decision making. 

The healthcare industry has become a diverse field that requires operational efficiency, clinical analytics, and personalized services. This can be achieved using big data solutions as they help examine big data using apps with high potential. These smart technologies are more utilized in the healthcare scope than most top industries as they are effective, time-saving, and analyze data from multiple sources. 

Big data solutions have brought a drastic turnaround in healthcare as it helps in entities such as telemedicine, electronic health records, and surgery robots, to name a few. They also deploy predictive analytics which mitigates costs, time on paperwork, and discovering big data products. 

The Role of Big Data Analytics

Big Data Analytics plays important roles such as:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Quality assurance and risk management
• Research: Both clinical studies as well as population studies
• Public health education: This includes disease prevention initiatives and improved quality care in hospitals
• Medicine costs savings: This could consist of reducing medical errors while improving patient safety through better coordination between physicians and nurses; reducing hospital stays; reducing readmissions, and increasing outpatient visits, among others

Benefits of Using Big Data in Healthcare?

The healthcare industry has become more important than ever, especially with the impacts of the recent Covid pandemic. This is because medical experts are in constant search of information, and big data technologies have proven more effective than conventional tactics. The benefits of big data for healthcare include:

Accurate and Organized Diagnosis

A lot of activities such as ER visits, labs, and examinations were involved in conventional diagnostics which is not the case in big data. The software helps discover complex healthcare information, compare it, and make meaningful suggestions before the diagnosis. This ensures accurate and organized diagnosis which offers better patient recovery.

Preventive Action

Processing huge data quantities using high-level big data solutions help craft insights that enhance preventive actions in the healthcare sector. Such technologies help discover the root cause of a disease and suggest effective healing methods before it becomes chronic.

Reliable Management of Population Health

When managing hundreds or even thousands of patients, big data apps have proven to be the most effective solution. Big data technologies have been used to elevate medical organizations to high-performance institutions. This is achieved through mitigating operational costs and enhancing patients’ outcomes which could not be achieved through conventional approaches.

Enhanced User Experience and Personalization

Data mining helps organizations better understand their users’ habits which is essential in improving user experience and personalization. This happens by treatment effectiveness by usage of technologies that examine the user’s daily routine. Having valuable know; edge and insights help improve healthcare services and meet real-time user needs.

Minimizes Healthcare Operational Costs

Healthcare costs have a notable share in the country’s GDP which affects both government and private sectors. Big data technologies have brought digital transformations which heighten the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of healthcare services. This makes administrative processes and management easier and smoothens operations in your organization.

Challenges of Big Data in Healthcare

Big data has bought substantial transformations in the healthcare sector but comes along with some downsides as articulated below:

Diversity of Data

In 2020, the total volume of healthcare data was approximated at 2,314 exabytes. Nowadays, healthcare data is stored in a wide array of platforms such as applications, websites, and private IoT devices. Gathering an intensive volume of data is quite hectic and yet it’s the primary step. Although the technologies are easier to feed with data, collecting and processing it can be challenging.

Data Security and Restrictions

Health data is sensitive and has strict restrictions regarding its collection, usage, and distribution. That’s why principles such as GDPR offer protection regarding the manipulation of health data. There are also special documents like the HIPAA which explain the terms and conditions of processing such data. This makes the collection of health data difficult as there are hefty fines for any violation.

Requires Data Engineering Prowess

Big data is still evolving and is a demanding field that requires prowess in mathematics and programming combinations. Due to its demands, there is strict competition which has caused some organizations to quit. If your organization does not have quality in-house engineers, utilizing big data technologies won’t provide tangible results.

Quality Data Required

Messing up data in the healthcare field can be detrimental to the expected results. The information must be accurate, standardized, and organized to record seamless integration and processing. Different sources of data have distinct data formats, which require careful interpretation before feeding and processing.

Is Big Data Important in Healthcare Solutions?

Based on the current health demands, big data is becoming an essential tool in facilitating health needs. It deploys modern algorithms which aid in interactive data visualizations. This is crucial in taking the utmost advantage of information garnered and helps in better decision-making in health care. Other advantages of big data in health care include accurate diagnosis, preventive action, management of population health, and boosting user experience.

Through the use of big data, NewCrop’s e-prescribing software obtains and keeps records regarding to patient prescription history to reduce the effects of incorrect, stolen, or misused prescriptions. As an industry-leading company, NewCrop helps prescribers with the tools needed to make confident prescribing decisions. Our electronic prescribing is trusted by over 200 EHR partners and provides unparalleled point-of-care decision support. Contact us today to get more real-time benefits and add value to your EHR products.