The use of big data technology is enabling care providers know more about their patients and offer more effective care. Yaqoob et al. (2016) defined big data as data that is difficult to manage using traditional data management methods due to its large size, complexity, and velocity. Collecting and processing such data to produce meaningful information requires specialized technologies. However, studies have shown that big data analysis provides more detailed and accurate information than other forms of data. Hence, big data is widely used in clinical systems to improve healthcare processes and patient care. In my facility, big data from wearables is used to deliver timely medical intervention despite the risk of information theft.
Wearable technology is a facet of health information technology (HIT) that has improved the quality and timeliness of care offered to outpatients especially people with cardiac or respiratory illness. Wearable devices transmit patient data such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rate to their care providers remotely (Wu & Luo, 2019). In my facility, we use this technology to track the condition of certain patients with heart and respiratory diseases remotely. A benefit of this technology is that it enables clinicians to intervene in the shortest possible time. When the heart rate of a patient with hypertension spikes or goes above the recommended level, the system sends an alert so that a medical practitioner can intervene by reaching out to the patient to recommend a solution or delivering care if necessary. Another benefit to using wearable technology is that it reduces the cost of in-patient care (Wu & Luo, 2019).
Despite the obvious advantages of using wearable devices, the technology possesses some risks. A major risk with using wearable technology is patient data security. Cillers (2020) asserted that wearable devices are vulnerable to cyber attacks because the data is usually sent through unsafe public wifis and cell data. This means that the weakest security link is in the intermediary connection. Thus, while using these unsafe networks to transmit sensitive data, cyber criminals can intercept such data. This problem is much more prominent when the identity of the patient is sensitive. To mitigate this issue, Wang et al. (2016) recommend using additional layers of security to checkmate the weak link. This strategy involves connecting the wearable device to only trusted networks and regularly updating the software to stay up-to-date with the latest security.
Cilliers, L. (2020). Wearable devices in healthcare: Privacy and information security issues. Health information management journal, 49(2-3), 150-156. https://doi.org/10.1177/1833358319851684
Wang, S., Bie, R., Zhao, F., Zhang, N., Cheng, X., & Choi, H. A. (2016). Security in wearable communications. IEEE Network, 30(5), 61-67. http://doi.org/10.1109/MNET.2016.7579028
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