People spend long hours and large amounts of money on medical visits. Our health is important to us and we always want the best care possible. With the implementation of big data in the healthcare industry, so many improvements have affected patient care.
Big data refers to large amounts of data that businesses analyze to make healthcare decisions that are better, more informed and more accurate. This is making a huge difference in healthcare, both for providers and patients. It allows for better treatment and more advancements in facilities that boost the services that patients receive.
Running big data analytics is useful in the healthcare industry for the improvement of every aspect of what it can offer. The following six use cases of big data in healthcare demonstrate just how important it is for the success of the industry.
1. It Puts Medical Advice in the Palm of a Patient's Hand
When you suffer from any abnormal feeling, the first thing you do is think the worst. You might search your symptoms on unreliable medical advice sites that might make your fears even worse.
By using big data, healthcare researchers have been able to construct apps and software that put medical advice right on our mobile phones. If you have a medical history that you need to keep track of or just a question about a symptom you have, big data makes whatever you need available with ease.
Apps are being released to the public that can track any patient's medical history and give warnings about risks. Some apps can even put users in contact with a medical professional at any time of day.
There is no need to visit the doctor for minor symptoms because of the information that big data provides the healthcare industry. If any discomfort persists, you'll be able to take action quickly with the use of big data.
2. It Can Make Tracking Health Data Easier
With modern technology, the software is now able to carry out medical functions that include diagnosis and treatment. Software as a medical device (SaMD) is a groundbreaking healthcare method that providers can use with the help of big data.
For a SaMD to function, it uses big data to calculate the best course of action for each patient. From finding a diagnosis to deciding on the best treatment, big data can predict what will yield the best results.
According to Orthogonal, big data analytics makes it possible to keep tabs on the changes in a patient's condition. It is then easier to decide on treatment modifications that can dramatically improve patient outcomes.
Big data also makes it so much easier to monitor health activity to decide if medical attention is needed. The software that exists can recognize a decline in health before it becomes too serious.
With big data in the picture, it is easier to predict when a person's health is at risk and what can be done to make it better.
3. It Helps Predict Patterns of Behavior
So many people require healthcare that it is difficult to determine which pharmaceutical products are the most effective on the market.
Now, big data can be analyzed to find out who is more likely to use certain medications and prescription drugs, why they stop taking them, and other factors that contribute to prescription use.
Knowing the demographics of who uses certain prescriptions as well as why people stop using them or switch to other options could dramatically change the way healthcare functions.
Healthcare marketers can advertise more useful products to the right people. Pharmaceutical companies can make changes to the prescriptions that aren't as effective or that aren't widely used.
Being able to track the patterns of usage will lead to more successful healthcare that focuses on the specific needs of every patient. It will also save money for both producers and users because the right medication could be given the first time.
4. Detect and Care for High-Risk Patients
Doctors often have difficulty deciding which patients are high-risk and a high cost to care for. Depending on a patient's history, which big data makes it easier to understand, doctors can more easily determine if they are at more of a risk for costly treatment needs.
According to Digital Authority Partners, it is more efficient to spot high-risk patients earlier on so care providers can take preventive measures with treatment and reduce costs.
By predicting risks ahead of time it is also easier to have interventions before matters of health get much worse and more expensive.
The main goal of detecting risk before a condition severely worsens is that it can increase patient satisfaction and reduce the costs of care in the long run.
5. It Can Improve Research
Potentially fatal ailments, like cancer and heart disease, are not always easy to treat. Big data could be the answer that allows new and effective treatment methods to be available.
Having access to big data analysis in addition to artificial intelligence (AI) can improve the awareness of resources that a medical provider needs and how to better treat a patient.
Big data, when combined with AI, is on its way to making the jobs of doctors less risky. It can help predict the likelihood of a cancer diagnosis, a risk of kidney disease, and even things as simple as which patients are likely to miss appointments.
The availability of big data to healthcare research is the most effective way to make big and small changes in the industry.
6. Big Data Protects Sensitive Information
Big data analytics can enhance security online and help prevent fraudulent claims. The healthcare industry collects a copious amount of personal information about each patient that receives care.
Because of the information it houses, the healthcare industry is more at risk for security breaches. 200% more at risk, to be exact.
According to Healthcare Weekly, big data is providing enhanced security for digital records in multiple forms. Firewalls and anti-virus software along with encryption technology provide multiple levels of safety for personal information.
Personal sensitive information is safer with the adoption of big data analysis in the healthcare industry. Big data is a hot topic in the healthcare industry and it is no surprise why. Within a few years, it has grown so much and continues to make patient care better.
