Big Data in Healthcare

Collective big data analysis of electronic health records, medical records, and other medical data is continuously helping build a better prognosis framework in "traditional" medicine outside of the current pandemic of COVID-19 (this is itself a case study of another kind and is pushing the amount of data to a whole new level). However, the challenges of big data analysis in healthcare range from federal law concerning how private data is stored to practical concerns such as how to computationally manage and leverage it. However, the magnitude of data being collected and stored remains the same. This paper asserts that new techniques and strategies should be created to better understand the nature (un-/semi-/structured data), complexity (dimensions and attributes), and volume of data to derive meaningful information. Given the current pandemic of COVID-19, do a little brainstorming and write down some ideas where you think improvements could be made. How should private data be extracted and security and privacy maintained while retaining relevant information for research? You may be well served to occasionally review your ideas and compare them with current research for patterns you may identify.

Abstract

'Big data' is massive amounts of information that can work wonders. It has become a topic of special interest for the past two decades because of a great potential that is hidden in it. Various public and private sector industries generate, store, and analyze big data with an aim to improve the services they provide. In the healthcare industry, various sources for big data include hospital records, medical records of patients, results of medical examinations, and devices that are a part of internet of things. Biomedical research also generates a significant portion of big data relevant to public healthcare. This data requires proper management and analysis in order to derive meaningful information. Otherwise, seeking solution by analyzing big data quickly becomes comparable to finding a needle in the haystack. There are various challenges associated with each step of handling big data which can only be surpassed by using high-end computing solutions for big data analysis. That is why, to provide relevant solutions for improving public health, healthcare providers are required to be fully equipped with appropriate infrastructure to systematically generate and analyze big data. An efficient management, analysis, and interpretation of big data can change the game by opening new avenues for modern healthcare. That is exactly why various industries, including the healthcare industry, are taking vigorous steps to convert this potential into better services and financial advantages. With a strong integration of biomedical and healthcare data, modern healthcare organizations can possibly revolutionize the medical therapies and personalized medicine.

Source: Sabyasachi Dash, Sushil Kumar Shakyawar, Mohit Sharma and Sandeep Kaushik, https://journalofbigdata.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40537-019-0217-0
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