For many industries, ensuring a strong use of big data will depend on how well-regulated a new initiative is. Tackling possible errors and differences between the data in different locations makes the overall effort more effective, since it helps resolve possible discrepancies between devices. For a sector working on interoperability, like healthcare, this takes on special significance.
A recent Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry article examined this as one of the the "hurdles" for greater data use in the healthcare world. Peter Winklestein told the source that the spread of data over so many sources makes it difficult to correctly manage seemingly competing elements.
"Even if you can get the data from the electronic health record, you then have the problem that the data is stored potentially differently in each of the different electronic health records and you have to somehow match up data elements that ought to be in the same place," Winklestein said.
Healthcare can use IT improvements to improve efficiency, as long as they measure consistency.As an example, he mentioned blood pressure measurements, which could come with multiple types of data stored in different fields. Every extra set of notes or necessary access could add even more complexity.
The same focus on specificity that defines other industries in the age of the cloud is also influencing healthcare. Forbes described the role that data-driven improvements are playing in tracking diseases and customizing care for each patient.
With a new profusion of wearables and other devices able to monitor a person's health, practitioners are facing a massive amount of information that needs parsing. The article said that IBM is developing an interface specifically designed to sort through large amounts of medical research to make things easier for doctors.
Respond to an IT modernization with a simple solution for device use. Running Inventu's Flynet saves your organization the trouble of reinstalling applets or tracking down each individual data source to keep things consistent.