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Imagine two patients, almost identical, found with a high risk of congestive heart failure. One patient hailing from Florida, a 58-year old male and another male patient from Kentucky, of the same age. Both these patients happened to visit the same physician from the same local health system where they were told to monitor their cholesterol intake, watch what they eat and take certain medicines every day. They were advised to undergo a bunch of tests, and if there are any complications, their care plan would be adjusted accordingly.

The term ‘Big data’ has been making rounds in the healthcare space for quite some time. So far, we have witnessed how Big data has been availed to carry out data integration, population health management, care management, referral management and quality reporting. But, there is another very crucial aspect where Big data is playing its part. Beyond increasing operational processes and efficiencies of a given network, Big data in healthcare is being used to predict episodes, cure disease, improve quality of life, and avoid preventable deaths.

I can easily, hands down, say that no one is a stranger to the ‘quality-versus-quantity of care’ debate. A while ago, I read about a patient with terminal cancer and the choices she made following her diagnosis. The patient, a 51-year old female was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Following the example of several other women, she too contacted her physician, had a mammography followed by a biopsy, which confirmed her doubts and the diagnosis of breast cancer.

Have you ever thought how giant enterprises like Facebook, Google and Microsoft have harnessed big data technology so spectacularly well? These consumer-centric industries are continuing to succeed at a global level. Do you know what they all have in common? APIs.

Is it possible that despite significant efforts of your providers and groundbreaking innovation focused on improving healthcare quality and affordability, the cost of care in your facility just won’t slow down? Perhaps you have an optimized EHR, state-of-the-art health IT and dedicated providers, yet bringing down the costs requires focusing on little things we often overlook- little things that make up the fabric of the tapestry we call healthcare.  

Have you ever come across the story of Dr. Reed of MS Family Medicine Health care? The story where her consistent efforts to stay connected with her patients had helped them achieve not just their personal health goals but also improve their overall health status. The impact she created on her patient population was so huge that patients with chronic conditions have been able to reduce or stop the regular medications.