What Medical Experts Think About Data Analytics For Healthcare?
Technological advancements are dramatically shaping the future of the healthcare industry. We can see data permeating every component of its ecosystem. Such changes are transforming the dynamics of the quintessential doctor-patient relationship in various ways.
Medical experts who treat patients in the same old fashioned manner are becoming fewer in number. Gone are the days when words like artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science sounded alien. Physicians are now being introduced to advanced data analytics for better decision making and enhancing the quality of treatment.
Amidst the intervention of technology in the healthcare ecosystem, it is imperative to understand the perspective of a medical expert. Does data analytics really help them physicians make informed decisions? Is the new approach to treatment practical than the conventional one? Is data analytics complementing traditional treatment?
Once questions like these are answered, a fair evaluation of risks and potentials of data analytics can be done. Research suggests that as many as two-thirds of the physicians believe that data analytics tools are crucial for treating patients. These tools also contributed to value-based treatments under rare conditions and resources.
The point of view of medical experts may vary, but there’s one thing that data analytics is doing for sure. It is helping clinicians extract relevant information from low-quality datasets. By now, we have a brief picture of how analysis of data can be vital to the healthcare industry. Let’s take a look at its importance from a medical expert’s perspective-
Diagnosis using large data sets from continuous monitoring
Clinical experts believe that data analytics tools are much helpful in gathering data and assessing a patient’s needs. They also improve the quality performance of a diagnosis.
However, it is equally challenging to possess continuous data of a patient. To solve this problem smart wearables and other tracking devices are put to use. These devices take historical patterns and genetic information into account, which prevents a threatening situation from getting out of hand.
The goal of medical science to serve people’s health conditions in a suitable manner. With smart devices now becoming a fashion statement, medical experts are finding al the data it is providing useful in drawing conclusions regarding a patient.
One of the best use cases of constant monitoring through wearable devices has been discovered by the Canadian companyAwake Lab. It tracks the data of autistic children through medical devices and alerts parents about any close emotional outbreak of the child.
Preventive Check-ups
A recent medical study performed on more than 70,000 patients throws light on how medical experts found data analytics useful. The research indicated that less than 60 percent of surgical patients and 40 percent of hospitalized patients received the required preventive care advice.
With data analytics to the rescue, medical experts believe that they quickly recognize risks and recommend prevention before a patient’s condition starts escalating. After all, prevention is better than cure, and we’ve all heard about it.
Remote Healthcare Facilities
Gone are the days when meeting a doctor in person was the only way of availing treatment. With the advancement of technology, patients across the world are gradually able to take the benefit of medical resources from remote locations.
Data analytics has a huge part to play in the process. The integration of electronic patient records and wearable devices is making it easier than ever to diagnose a patient from a remote area. When doctors are in touch with continuous data of a patient, they can back their decision with data, even when they cannot physically examine the patient.
Cues from multi-parameter data
We’ve all been there when medical experts have asked us a variety of questions during a diagnosis. Some of them even felt unrelated to the underlying condition at that time.
But now, as data analytics extends its reach to healthcare, we realize how even the smallest of parameters can cause a significant difference in the course of treatment.
Combining multiple parameters can often result in the most significant healthcare insight. Medical experts explain this fact with an example. By combining the heart rate and heart rate variability, one can easily measure stress. The same principle can be applied to different medical conditions and diseases and obtain insightful information.
Another company, Propeller, combines a patient’s respiratory data with environment sources to find out how environmental factors can trigger asthma. While accomplishing this manually with multiple parameters is a tough nut to crack, medical experts are relying on data analytics for the task.
Conclusion
Data analytics is not just aiding care management efforts but also leading to a strong foundation of healthcare services that are guided by data rather than intuition. Until we reach the sci-fi doomsday, it is hard to say that technology will completely take over the need for a medical expert. But what we can say right now is that collaboration between physicians, clinicians, and doctors with data analytic tools is leading to a world where people live longer and healthier.
Author Bio:
Matt Wilson - A Healthcare Expert, working with Aegis HealthTech as senior developer from last 5 years. He has extensive experience in Patient Management System, EMR & EHR Development and hl7 integration.