Big Implications of Big Data in Healthcare

Over the last decade, tremendous progress has been witnessed in the volumes of data that is generated  each day through various activities. The capacity of people in harnessing technology to collect, evaluate and  understand such data has also increased substantially. The propensity of these trends to intersect with each  other has come to be termed as ‘Big Data’. Needless to say, big data has emerged to be critically important  to businesses across diverse industrial sectors by enabling them to enhance their efficiency and augment  their productivity. The idea that big data plays a vital role in making the world a better place may seem  farfetched but, it is true. Evidence can be found in the way big data is being utilized in the healthcare sector.

Healthcare is one of the sectors that has immensely benefitted from big data. Other than enhancing efficiency  and increasing productivity, big data in healthcare is being effectively utilized to anticipate potential  epidemics, alleviate disease, enhance life expectancy and evade preventable deaths. While population continues  to grow and with increased life spans, changes have been witnessed in treatment methodologies.  However, it is worthwhile to note that the changes have been largely data driven. The challenge here is to  get a better understanding of patients’ health as early as possible. This is necessary to pinpoint any serious  illness a patient may have, early on. Identifying a life-threatening illness at an early stage enables  healthcare professionals to treat and manage the ailment with relative ease as compared to the condition  being diagnosed at a much later stage. This is made possible by assessing and analyzing big data.