Big Data Problems Are Social, Not Technical

By Greg Bengel, contributing writer

A new report suggests that the first questions we must ask ourselves about big data should be about social interoperability, not technological feasibility

“The biggest challenge for the use of ‘big data’ in health care is social, not technical. Data-intensive approaches to medicine based on predictive modeling hold enormous potential for solving some of the biggest and most intractable problems of health care. The challenge now is figuring out how people, both patients and providers, will actually use data in practice.”

This quote comes from a report by Gina Neff, a professor in the department of communications at the University of Washington in Seattle. It summarizes the main point of the report, which is that the real challenges of using big data in healthcare are social, not technical. Big data, she says, “won’t cure us,” because figuring out how to use it is too much of a problem. Check out this Fierce Health IT, which covers the main parts of the report.

Neff argues that the very first things that providers must address in terms of big data are questions of social interoperability. Until those are figured out, as Fierce Health IT puts it, “the risks of big data will outweigh the benefits.” According to Neff’s report, “The ways in which health technology innovators have talked about the power of data neglects key aspects of the social interoperability or integration of data into health solutions. How will such data be integrated into care providers work practices; through the complex routines of clinics and hospitals; and into existing legal, social, political and economic frameworks?”

Neff also questions the usefulness of big data. “Calling traces of digital behavior or personal histories data masks bigger questions,” Fierce Health IT quotes from the report. “[D]ata for whom and what purposes; data when and data why? Information useful for the online marketer is not necessarily useful for the patient or clinician.”

Neff concludes her report with what she sees as the necessary components that “must be a part of any push toward big data in health care.” They are:

1. “Real conversations on data privacy
2. Design that matters for clinical care
3. Design that matters for patients, not just consumers
4. New models for patient-doctor communication
5. Policy that embraces technological innovation.”

Neff’s report calls to mind the recent presentations at the MIT Technology Review’s EmTech event in Cambridge, Massachusetts (read about it here on mobihealthnews.com). Presenters at the event advocated strongly that while the potentials big data present are thrilling, it’s time for more serious conversations on how big data can affect data privacy and security.