Posted: March 16th, 2022

Big data is a benefit to the healthcare industry, but also comes with risks.

Big data is a benefit to the healthcare industry, but also comes with risks. There are many potential benefits if accessed and utilized correctly. Much information goes into the organization, planning, and functioning of a typical day in the healthcare facility. Having to schedule adequate staff, acuity of patients, unplanned emergencies, infections, surgeries, admissions, discharges, transfers, financial means, and strategic planning are just a few important factors in a days’ time. All the before mentioned aspects tie into big data in some way.

The big data most evident to me is the EHR (electronic health record). This is vital to the patient’s health and the sharing of information with other facilities/physicians. EHR’s contain personal information containing a lot of data. Personal demographics, medical history, lab, and diagnostic studies, and previous hospitalizations and nurses’ notes. This information is very private and is shared only with the patient and his/her providers. This secure information is accessed to further provide quality care to the patient as well as schedule additional testing if necessary. EHR’s will alert staff to these necessary tests/procedures utilizing data that assists in the process. The information gathered and entered by healthcare professionals allows the system to analyze the information and send out alerts of crucial data to the healthcare professionals. Big data also benefit patients throughout the US by having the ability to access these medical records wherever they may be traveling. In an emergency, being able to access personal medical information may save one’s life.

There are several risks that could potentially be dangerous, but the biggest one is breaching confidentiality. Personal information such as SS numbers and driver’s licenses are not as secure as they were 20 years ago. A private log-in must be available to the patient as well as the staff that enters the information into the data system. Breaches occur nationwide and could potentially cause harm to a patient if his/her chart were breached. Hackers could change medications, lab results, or personal data resulting in a change in medication or treatment plan, possibly resulting in death.

One of the challenges that I read while researching, was being able to collaborate all the information and/or data that is spread across many facilities. Corporations are not willing to spend additional money on staffing and this major task would cost a lot. Although big data would save money eventually, starting the process would cause healthcare facilities time and money. Data systems would have to be agreed upon, platforms would need to be built, data would need entered and then validated to ensure accuracy. This process is critical to the patient’s health and well-being and must be completed meticulously.

References

Catalyst, N. E. J. M. (n.d.). Healthcare Big Data and the Promise of Value-Based Care. NEJM Catalyst. https://catalyst.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/CAT.18.0290.

Pastorino, R., De Vito, C., Migliara, G., Glocker, K., Binenbaum, I., Ricciardi, W., & Boccia, S. (2019, October 1). Benefits and challenges of Big Data in healthcare: an overview of the European initiatives. European journal of public health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6859509/.

Thew, J. (2016, April 19). Big data means big potential, challenges for nurse execs. Retrieved from https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/nursing/big-data-means-big-potential-challenges-nurse-execs

Vinay Shanthagiri. (2014). Big Data in Health Informatics [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W6zGmH_pOw

Wang, Y., Kung, L., & Byrd, T. A. (2018). Big data analytics: Understanding its capabilities and potential benefits for healthcare organizations. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 126(1), 3–13.

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