Making Patient Data More Accessible Through Big Data

Harrison Brown

Collecting big data is something that most chief information officers are accustomed to. However, in the medical world it can be tricky to accumulate data over various institutions and vendors pertaining to a certain patient. Karen DeSalvo, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services information technology coordinator is faced with a unique task of aggregating patient information so that it can be accessible whenever and wherever they need it. The article explains that she will face a multitude of problems when trying to free this data up.

One major problem is that this data is trapped in something called “data silos” and can be very difficult to gain access to. This data is being held onto by medical record companies as well as other hospitals that are determined to hold on to this data to maintain a competitive edge or to generate higher profits. It is disheartening to hear that these companies and hospitals will hoard mountains of our medical information simply to beat their competitors when they should be doing everything they can to collaborate to ensure that their patients are healthy. In addition to these hospitals and vendors not wanting to comply with giving up their data, DeSalvo will also face major regulations that seek to keep many peoples medical history as private as possible.

From the stand point of a patient there are many pros and cons to what DeSalvo is promoting. On the one hand it would be extremely convenient to be able to access yours or a loved one’s medical records instantly to review them. However, as it is with many ambitious big data projects the protection of this information is of the utmost importance. People may feel extremely vulnerable if they knew that all of their medical information was in one spot and could be hacked. DeSalvo recognizes this as an obstacle that needs to be confronted to be able to gain the trust and support of their consumers.

That would be one of the major issues I have with DeSalvo’s project, having critical family medical data in one spot heightens the chances that that data could be stolen. If DeSalvo were to outline her plans for security within this database that will house all of this data, then she may be able to lay to rest peoples doubts whether or not they can protect our data. As of this past month many large medical record companies have stepped forward and said they would be open to allowing the mass amounts of data they have accumulated to be transferred into the hands of DeSalvo so that she can make patient medical information more accessible to the patient. This is but one small step in a process that will take time in order for people to become comfortable with giving up data for the good of the patient. Additionally, I have attached another article that gives a detailed layout of how to make the patient data more accessible.

URLS: http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2016/04/05/national-health-it-coordinator-says-technology-can-help-unblock-patient-data-access/

https://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/consumer/making-patient-access-health-information-reality