Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    sales and data analytics
    How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
    9 Min Read
    data analytics and truck accident claims
    How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
    7 Min Read
    predictive analytics for interior designers
    Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
    8 Min Read
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Why We Need More Big Data Doctors
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Business Intelligence > Knowledge Management > Why We Need More Big Data Doctors
Big DataKnowledge Management

Why We Need More Big Data Doctors

Bernard Marr
Bernard Marr
5 Min Read
Big Data Doctors
SHARE

Doctors are highly educated and (usually) very good at certain things – examining and talking to patients, and using the data they extract to diagnose and treat illness. What they are not necessarily so good at, is what they do with that data afterwards. But increasingly, innovations in health care involving big data are producing solutions which are helping physicians to diagnose more accurately and treat more effectively. If you’re older than about 35, you might remember the first time you saw a computer in a doctor’s surgery. Now they are commonplace, and it is not unusual to see your physician accessing information to help with diagnosing and prescribing medicine, during a consultation. Electronic Health Records have been around for a while – various systems of differing reliability , designed to make patient data more readily accessible, as well as transferable between the different healthcare professionals or institutions which may be involved in a patient’s care. But with the big data revolution, innovators are coming up with increasingly sophisticated methods of incorporating that information with data from hundreds of other health-related sources. The aim is to make the most relevant and up-to-date information available to doctors, in real-time as they consult with their patients. Now companies such as Apixio and Allscripts provide systems which not only give the doctor a complete overview of a patient’s medical history, but provide data which can be used on a larger scale – for example to highlight correlations between different medical conditions which may not have been noticed before, and give insights into how these may be affected by other factors, such as the methods used to treat the conditions, or the part of the world in which they occur. In turn, this aggregated data can be reapplied to the individual patient – meaning their treatment will be backed by statistical insights gleaned from worldwide health surveys, data on the general population and the latest news from recently published medical papers and journals. This will also help hospitals and front-line healthcare providers prepare for increasing demand on their services due to epidemics and seasonal outbreaks. Overall, this trend is in-line with a general movement which has been taking place in healthcare over the last 20 years, away from “treating the sick” towards “keeping the population healthy”. In time, this will lead to far more emphasis on preventative care – doctors will be able to predict which of their patients are most likely to develop serious (and expensive to treat) health issues such as diabetes and heart disease at a far earlier stage in their life, and work with them towards minimizing risks. As well as front-line services, the pharmaceutical industry is embracing big data in a big way, hoping that by vastly increasing the volume of data shared from clinical trials, the process of developing and distributing new drugs will become more efficient. As always there are dangers – will the role of the doctor become less relevant – reduced to ticking boxes before a computer does the real work of diagnosing the illness and prescribing the remedy? And with the sort of predictive treatment I mentioned above, is there a risk that it may lead to treatment being refused or withdrawn if a patient does not comply with the prescribed preventative measures (i.e eating more healthily and taking more exercise, to reduce the risk of heart disease). When you take into account the upcoming boom in “wearables” which can measure activity levels (and, theoretically at this point, but in the future who know?) report them directly to your doctor (or medical insurer). These are probably questions that society will have to answer in the future. But in the meantime, we can be hopeful that the enthusiasm the medical and pharmaceutical industries are showing towards moving into more data-driven practices will lead to better treatment, at lower cost. What do you think? Would you rather trust a doctor or a computer to diagnose and treat you? Let me know in the comments section below.

Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share
ByBernard Marr
Follow:
Bernard Marr is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, strategic performance consultant and analytics, KPI and Big Data guru.

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

sales and data analytics
How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
Analytics Big Data Exclusive
ai in marketing
How AI and Smart Platforms Improve Email Marketing
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive Marketing
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive
AI supply chain
AI Tools Are Strengthening Global Supply Chains
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

Data is the differentiator

5 Min Read

Implementing and Using Social Media Analytics

3 Min Read

10th Annual ECCMA Conference (ISO 8000 Data Quality Conference)

5 Min Read

Five Segmentation Must-Dos

3 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

ai in ecommerce
Artificial Intelligence for eCommerce: A Closer Look
Artificial Intelligence
data-driven web design
5 Great Tips for Using Data Analytics for Website UX
Big Data

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?