“Data is a discrete set of details related to a specific situation, patient, or population,” according to Laureate Education (2012). According to Laureate Education (2012), data becomes information, which becomes knowledge, which becomes wisdom, and so on. According to Thew (2016), big data is “a large complex data set that yields significantly more information when analyzed as a fully integrated data set when compared to the outputs achieved with smaller sets of the same data that are not integrated.”
Organizing and making sense of big data is a daunting task, but when done correctly, it has the potential to achieve great things. Preventative medicine/applications are one of the most exciting ways to use big data in my opinion (Vinay Shanthagiri, 2014). Medicine can be proactive rather than reactive by utilizing big data.
Big data knowledge encourages preventive health measures. Big data trends derived from a population of people diagnosed with hypertension, for example, reveal potential risk factors. Big data can lead to potential preventative factors when compared to those who do not have hypertension. Obtaining data on these patients yields information about potential risk and preventative factors. This information becomes knowledge, such as poor diet and lack of exercise, both of which are risk factors for hypertension. Based on this, healthcare providers can educate patients on wise preventative measures (such as improving diet and exercise) to help them avoid developing hypertension. Big data analysis is exciting because it can be applied to so many different illnesses, allowing healthcare to finally take a proactive rather than reactive approach.
The one aspect of big data that scares me is data security. Nobody wants their personal information to be public. I know I don’t want anyone passing by to see or hear my weight when I go to the doctor. Consider the possibility that all of your personal information, including your age, date of birth, diagnosis, medications, and surgeries, is available to anyone and everyone.
Dual verification is required at the hospital where I work. This is an extra layer of security. Employees log in using their unique employee number and a complex password (that changes every month). A PIN number is also sent to your phone or email by the program. Before accessing any company or patient data, this PIN number must be entered.
Laureate Education (Executive Producer). (2012). Data, Information, knowledge and wisdom continuum [Multimedia file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/NURS/6051/03/mm/continuum/index.html
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