A Wall Street Journal article noted: “Researchers are analyzing pools of patient information collected from routine checkups to help doctors better diagnose their patients. This type of data is easier to mine thanks to the rise in electronic health records that contain information collected in regular doctor visits.”
“Big data generally refers to information that is too large—terabytes to petabytes or even exabytes of memory—to process with older standards of processing power. Researchers say it is important to do additional studies beyond data mining to learn more.”
Examples of how mining electronic health records –
- Data about patients with sore throats who visited a national clinic helped create a score to help determine if patients can rest at home or need to see a doctor for a strep test.
- Doctors’ claims to a nationwide health insurance plan helped find elevated risk of epilepsy in patients with common autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
- An insurance claims database helped predict which patients were less likely to take their statins and might need programs to encourage them to take their medicine.
- Electronic health records in an academic medical center database helped determine association between allergies and eye inflammation disease in juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients.
Click here to read the full Wall Street Journal article “Big Data Treasure Trove From Routine Medical Checkups” by Amy Dockser.
****
Doctor, Did You Wash Your Hands? ™ provides information to consumers on understanding, managing and navigating health care options.
Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H., is Clinical Professor, Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Adjunct Professor, Baruch College ( C.U.N.Y.), Rutgers School of Public Health, and Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration.
This blog shares general information about understanding and navigating the health care system. For specific medical advice about your own problems, issues and options talk to your personal physician.