{"id":768,"date":"2019-11-11T06:20:26","date_gmt":"2019-11-11T06:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/?p=768"},"modified":"2019-11-11T12:38:14","modified_gmt":"2019-11-11T12:38:14","slug":"big-data-transforming-healthcare-delivery-and-improving-effectiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/blog\/big-data-transforming-healthcare-delivery-and-improving-effectiveness\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Data: Transforming Healthcare Delivery and Improving Effectiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"h3color\">In Brief<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>This article delves into the potential of\nbig data and how it is making a huge impact in the domain of healthcare.<\/li><li>The article provides a look into the\nsources of big data in a healthcare setting and various applications of big\ndata in the healthcare sector. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is a known fact that information holds the key to innovative developments and better organization. Availability of information can help us in organizing ourselves in an optimized manner and facilitate enhanced outcomes. That\u2019s primarily the reason why data collection has become an integral task for organizations\u2019 big and small. The advantage here is that such data can be utilized for predicting current trends of certain parameters and events in future. Considering this, data collection in organizations\u2019 has assumed much significance. As an outcome, there is an influx of data within every aspect of life such as; work, social activities, science, health etc. This current scenario can be likened to an inundation of data which is largely termed as big data in the present day. Big data holds tremendous potential in all sectors of industry; however one particular sector where the potential of big data needs further exploration is the sector of healthcare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"h3color\">Big Data in Healthcare<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The system of healthcare is rather multi-dimensional in nature and has been setup with the singular purpose of diagnosis, prevention, treatment and management of issues pertaining to human health. Key elements in the healthcare matrix would include the healthcare professionals and healthcare organizations. Professionals in healthcare belong to diverse sectors of health such as; general medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, dentistry, midwifery, psychology and several others. Healthcare professionals act as the initial point of contact which is primary care and further moves to secondary care and later to advanced medical investigation and treatment (tertiary care). At each of the said levels, healthcare professionals have to deal with vast volumes of data. Such data is generated from diverse sources that comprise of medical imaging, payor records, wearables and medical devices, electronic health records (EHRs), genome sequencing, and pharmaceutical research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"442\" height=\"324\" src=\"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/image-128.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-769\" srcset=\"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/image-128.png 442w, https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/image-128-300x220.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 442px) 100vw, 442px\" \/><figcaption><br> Figure 1. Sources of Big Data in Healthcare <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With\nrapid progress and advancements in terms of technology to generate data, there\nhas been a drastically growing trend in terms of data volumes. For instance, it\ncan be observed from the human genome project that culminated in 2003 that a\nsingle human genome in the human DNA takes up around 100 \u2013 150 gigabytes. With\nregards to the size of data, big data in the domain of healthcare surpassed 150\nexabytes post 2011. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2018As per the findings of a recent study, it was found that the size of the data in healthcare is approximated to touch around 40 zeta bytes in 2020, a 50-fold increase from what it used to in 2009 \u2013 0.8 zeta bytes\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"h3color\">Applying Big Data in Healthcare<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the present day, big data is of much importance specifically in the healthcare sector. During the course of the past ten years, most healthcare organizations and clinics across the world have shifted to electronic health records. Such records are crucial in presents vital clinical information and an in-depth understanding of disease patterns in patients. It helps to enhance efficiency and improve the delivery of healthcare. Big data in healthcare can be applied in the following areas;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"h3color\">Cancer Detection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Big\ndata could and has proven to be an effective means to detect the onset of\ncancer. The scope for detecting and diagnosing the disease at its initial stage\nis possible with big data. This allows professionals to adopt therapies that\nare more effective on the basis of the genetic makeup of a patient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Back\nin 2013, doctors in the United States had reviewed and analyzed healthcare data\nand records of a Hollywood actor who had a history of breast cancer in her\nfamily. Using the data generated through genome sequencing, doctors detected\nthe presence of the BRCA1 gene, revealing that the actor was at risk of hereditary\nbreast cancer. On the basis of the analysis and recommendations of the doctor,\nthe actor was able to initiate preventive measures. This is just one instance\nwhere big data and big data analytics have been effectively utilized for\npreventive healthcare. Since then, there have been further advancements in the\nmanner in which the potential of big data is leveraged in the domain of\nhealthcare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, with big data dosage of cancer drugs can be regulated to lower any side effects while enhancing effectiveness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"h3color\">Big Data in Public Health and Behaviour<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The focus of big data within public health and behaviour revolves around users physiological data that is largely gathered with the help of portable instruments such as contagion, daily health records, diet, electrocardiogram, sports and vitals. With regards to infectious diseases within the public health domain, there is a very popular instance wherein Google was successful in predicting the scale and time of influenza by evaluating data from search engine results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/image-129.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-770\" srcset=\"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/image-129.png 584w, https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/image-129-300x218.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><figcaption><br> Figure 2. Applications of Big Data in Healthcare <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"h3color\">Monitoring Patient\u2019s Vital Signs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Applying big data in the domain of healthcare renders it easy for healthcare providers and professionals to execute their tasks in an efficient manner. Data generated through sensors placed next to patients plays an instrumental role in monitoring patients\u2019 blood pressures, rate of respiration and heartbeat. Any minor fluctuation is communicated to healthcare professionals in real time, allowing them to take preemptive measures to control the situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"h3color\">Hospital Administration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Application of big data in the healthcare domain also eases the administrative procedures within a healthcare facility. It brings down costs associated with measurement of care, offer superior levels of clinical support and effectively handle patients who have been categorized as \u2018high-risk\u2019. Big data can be helpful to healthcare providers and professionals to store data in a systematic manner. This systematization facilitates healthcare professionals with an ease of access to patient data that ultimately helps them to arrive at informed decisions. This is quite resourceful in the sense that it saves precious time in finding information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"h3color\">Future Scope<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>As of now, several healthcare and\nbiomedical tools like mobile biometric sensors, genomics and smartphone applications\ngenerate vast amounts of data. Thus, it becomes imperative for healthcare\nproviders and professionals to know about and evaluate the applications and\nbenefits from the use of such data. <\/li><li>While the application of big data is\ntremendous, the domain of big data is also wrought with challenges. These\nchallenges relate to the handling, storage and security of such data. <\/li><li>Further investigation needs to be carried\nout with regards to how big data in healthcare can be effectively used for\nfuture predictions (in terms of population health). There is a need to explore\nwhether big data can be used to predict epidemics and offer early warnings of\ndisease conditions.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Brief This article delves into the potential of big data and how it is making a huge impact in the domain of healthcare. The article provides a look into the sources of big data in a healthcare setting and various applications of big data in the healthcare sector. It is a known fact that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=768"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":771,"href":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768\/revisions\/771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guires.uk\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}