Big Data in nursing practice has no unified definition. However, the baseline meaning of Big Data corresponds to the enormous size of data regarding volume, velocity, variety, and veracity (Wong et al., 2016).
The advancement of technology and clinical research studies has increased the amount of data handled in every facet of nursing practice. The use of big data in the clinical system has potential benefits and risks. This paper will discuss the potential benefits and risks associated with the utilization of big data in nursing clinical systems and propose one strategy to prevent the risks.
Potential Benefit of Using Big Data
In the nursing practice, big data sources include the nursing clinical research findings, patient medical records, and results of clinical examination and laboratory investigations, including imaging. The application of big data concepts in the healthcare industry aims at improving the quality of healthcare outcomes by revolutionizing and modernizing healthcare practice (Agrawal & Prabakaran, 2020).
Including technology in handling big data in nursing and clinical research has potential benefits for future healthcare. Analysis and utilization of big data will positively impact healthcare quality by increasing its effectiveness while reducing costs.
Secondly, insight descriptive analysis of big data yields diagnostic data that result in predictive outcomes. The predictive outcomes yield prescriptive results that lead to smarter and cost-effective health outcomes (Dash et al., 2019).
This can happen in four different ways: early risk factor determination; early determination of markers or signals of adverse situations of disease or intervention; timely decision making based on analyzed past data; and ability to predict future outcomes of diseases (Pastorino et al., 2019). Through these four ways, big data ensures timely diagnosis and effectiveness of interventions, improved patient safety and pharmaco-vigilance, and disease prevention.
Scrutinizing big data differs from a secondary healthcare data analysis in the health setting. The intention of big data analysis and utilization of this data with undiscovered scope or size is to answer certain research questions and uncover certain disease conditions that are yet to be fully epidemiologically described. Therefore, big data has the potential of changing the course and practice of medicine and nursing by making them more preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic (Ienca et al., 2018).
Potential Challenge or Risk of Using Big Data
Despite the described benefits of big data, it is still unclear whether it is the answer to the limited quality of care delivery and access faced in different global contexts. The concept of unmeasured confounding makes determinations of the statistical associations in causations Discussion: Big Data Risks and Rewards NURS 6051.
The increase in the size of data increases the chances of biases in data sets and making inferences from the analyzed big data. Various other confounders can cause a high variation in correlations from the big data analyses. As a new concept of data mining and utilization in the clinical system, big data analysis will require specialized advanced technology and skills that are yet to be widespread among clinical researchers and clinicians (Wong et al., 2016).
Further, digital maturity in healthcare lags compared to other fields (Suter-Crazzolara, 2018). There are ethical implications and violations that come with the utilization of big data, such as privacy, gender discrimination, and data protection (Alexandru et al., 2018). A study by Ienca et al. (2018) suggests a solution to the ethical challenges that entails scrutinizing biomedical research using big data regarding social benefits, data control, accountability, purpose, ability, and intention to share. While solvable, the methodological and ethical risks that come with the utilization of big data tend to require proper scrutinization.
Conclusion
The big data concept implies the enormous volume, veracity, and velocity of ever-increasing data available in biomedical research and data analysis Discussion: Big Data Risks and Rewards NURS 6051.
The benefit of the utilization of big data would reduce the cost of healthcare while increasing its effectiveness and timeliness of care. However, there still exist challenges of technical limitations and risks of ethical violations in big data use, which, alongside the apparent lag in big data usage in clinical settings, might jeopardize future integration into nursing
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