❓Role of data analytics in healthcare?
Data analytics helps organizations identify medical patterns and health-related trends to improve medical care. For example, computer systems can notify at-risk patients as soon as real-time health trends find at-risk patients who may be vulnerable to certain diseases or medications. Treatments can be developed and applied just in time as conditions develop or worsen. Ultimately, personalized and effective treatments lead to improved medical outcomes through data analytics 1.
Data analytics is generating enough data that personalized medicine is now possible. Some aspects of this personalization include validation of treatments, better targeting, and increased focus on prevention 2. For example, rather than relying on trial-and-error of quantity prescription and distributions, doctors can now rely on data analytics to prescribe the precise amount of medicine for an exact amount of time to lead to the most probable outcomes based on the data. Additionally, through the collection and analysis of the data, treatments can be further validated and refined. The additional data generated leads to both increased accuracy as well as introduces data management challenges.
Enablement of preventative care is the most significant value-add of data analytics. There is less societal value in managing and solving medical treatments after an individual has exhibited symptoms. The potential and ability to proactively predict, treat, and prevent diseases will lead to dramatically healthier societies with a much longer life span and an individual’s ability to have a positive life impact. Society stands to benefit from the additional healthy and productive time of its citizens as they produce more outcomes or simply recharge their internal and emotional batteries. Greater health will lead to better and thriving communities.
📝 References
- Asia. Data analytics can play a critical role in supporting digital transformation. iTnews Asia. Published August 16, 2021. Accessed June 26, 2022. https://www.itnews.asia/news/data-analytics-can-play-a-critical-role-in-supporting-digital-transformation-568629
- Panahiazar M, Taslimitehrani V, Jadhav A, Pathak J. Empowering personalized medicine with big data and semantic web technology: Promises, challenges, and use cases. 2014 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (Big Data). Published online October 2014. doi:10.1109/bigdata.2014.7004307