Data is the new currency; the new black gold that is transforming the way every industry functions. And, healthcare is no exception. The healthcare industry is generally known for its apprehension towards adopting new-age technologies. However, with changing time and owing to the push from the ongoing pandemic, the healthcare industry is being compelled to let technology make inroads into its landscape.

As per industry experts, healthcare digital transformation was inevitable. The adoption of digital technology solutions by the healthcare system are resulting in seamless data collection and processing to gain insights that can be leveraged to resolve gaps in the industry. With the integration of big data analytics, new avenues in terms of patient care, healthcare management, and cost optimization are opening up.

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Also Read: Emerging Technologies – Empowering Health Informatics

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It is becoming imperative for the healthcare industry to recognize data as a ‘valuable’ asset for making strategic and well—informed decisions. Below mentioned are three ways in which data-driven strategies are transforming the healthcare industry:

Shift toward value-based care – There is a paradigm shift in the healthcare industry, where volume-based care is getting increasingly replaced by value-based care. A value-based care structure provides incentives for health care providers to offer the best care at the lowest cost. Hence, patients are receiving more value for their money. Value-based care differs from a fee-for-service approach, in which providers are paid based on the amount of healthcare services they deliver.

Data is essential for prediction and prevention of diseases – Digital technologies are being utilized in the healthcare industry to identify and track indicative and causative factors of several diseases and report the findings to doctors. The doctors can then use this information to perform tests that confirm the presence of a medical condition and initiate appropriate treatment if needed.

For instance, a doctor can keep a track of patient’s medical history by analyzing data from different tests such as CT scan, MRI, or generic and can identify and highlight patterns that point towards a certain type of chronic illness.

Analysis of such data enables doctors to identify high-risk patients and monitor them for early signs of certain type of diseases. As a result, proper care can be made available to patients early on before the condition worsens.

Providing real-time care with the help of IoT – The instant data collected from Internet of Things (IoT) devices enables doctors and healthcare providers to monitor patient’s health before and after surgeries or any other kind of treatment. Since these wearables constantly collect data on key health parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, or oxygen level, any discrepancies in these parameters that indicate potential danger can be reported to both the patients and relevant doctors in real-time.

In conclusion, data analysis is proving to be the biggest enabler in the healthcare industry. It allows doctors and other healthcare providers to monitor their patients’ health in real-time, rather than waiting for patients to visit them and report their health issues. Hence, it wouldn’t be incorrect to say that in the near future, healthcare analytics will play a central role in the field of medical science. Big Data Analytics in healthcare will open up new insights about the human anatomy which will transform the way people perceive their health and lifestyle.