Why is Data Science so Important to Healthcare and Medicine - DSCI 490 Capstone Winter 2024 - Health

Data Science in Healthcare and Medicine

Priyanshi Goyal, & Rishabha Malviya. (2023). Challenges and opportunities of big data analytics in healthcare. Health Care Science, 2(5), 328–338.
Abstract Data science is an interdisciplinary discipline that employs big data, machine learning algorithms, data mining techniques, and scientific methodologies to extract insights and information from massive amounts of structured and unstructured data. The healthcare industry constantly creates large, important databases on patient demographics, treatment plans, results of medical exams, insurance coverage, and more. The data that IoT (Internet of Things) devices collect is of interest to data scientists. Data science can help with the healthcare industry's massive amounts of disparate, structured, and unstructured data by processing, managing, analyzing, and integrating it. To get reliable findings from this data, proper management and analysis are essential. This article provides a comprehensive study and discussion of process data analysis as it pertains to healthcare applications. The article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using big data analytics (BDA) in the medical industry. The insights offered by BDA, which can also aid in making strategic decisions, can assist the healthcare system.

Patient Health Data - One of the Biggest Challenges in Healthcare is Secularly Managing Patient Healthcare Data

At hospitals in Canada medical staff, especially nurses and physicians involved in critical care, emergency care and acute care settings, see the first 1.5 to 2.5 hours of their 12-hour shift involved in patient chart review. Also known in the literature as 'Shift-to-Shift' Patient Handover.' In a fully staff unit, this could involve 6 or more staff.

Patient handover is described in the literature as the "transfer of professional responsibility and accountability for some aspect of care for the patient, or group of patients, to another person or professional group on a temporary or permanent basis."

In addition to shift changes, patient handovers are a normal part of treatment within a hospital setting with the patient being sent to a wide variety of locations for specific tests, treatments, or medical examinations. But wherever they may venture to their 'Chart" goes with them.

Furthermore, patient healthcare data is one of the largest sources of information used for Data Science in the healthcare system.

Ross, J. (2020). Successful Handoffs Lead to Smooth Transitions in Health Care. Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing : Official Journal of the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses, 35(6), 685–686.
Communication is a cornerstone to patient safety, and one of the major interactions where communication is essential is during a patient handoff. The handoff process is when one health care provider is transferring the patient to another health care provider and represents coordination of patient care. The information provided during this exchange begins the journey toward a positive outcome or missed information has the potential for a serious error. The poor interchange of information from one health care provider (sender) to another provider (receiver) can occur for a variety of reasons, including the lack of time, interruptions or distractions, forgotten information, confusing jargon used by the providers, or the lack of documentation.
Rikos, N., Linardakis, M., Economou, C., Rovithis, M., & Philalithis, A. (2019). The nurses’ own views about the inter-shift handover process. Contemporary Nurse, 55(1), 83–94.
Nursing handovers provide critical information on the patient, requiring special communication skills and techniques between the nurses’ shift-change. Aim: Current study investigates the experiences/views of nurses regarding the handover process. Methods: An observation method was applied assesing 22 interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire and an audio recording system throughout mixed content analysis. Results: Nursing handover mainly involves medical instructions, detailed records of each patient's general condition or drug administration guidelines. Nurses determined which pieces of information were significant to transfer to the next shift were the medical instructions, the patient's hemodynamic condition and the care plans implemented by the previous nurse. The information was mainly drawn from events occurring in the previous 24 h, from the medical instructions, or the doctors and the nursing outcomes, and to a lesser extent from the events of the previous shifts and the nursing folders. None of the participants had received, as they stated, any training in the handover process. Conclusions: It is highlighting the importance of organized, standardized and up-to-date handovers, and the fundamental part they play in the health care system.
Mardis, M., Davis, J., Benningfield, B., Elliott, C., Youngstrom, M., Nelson, B., Justice, E. M., & Riesenberg, L. A. (2017). Shift-to-Shift Handoff Effects on Patient Safety and Outcomes: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Medical Quality, 32(1), 3
Multiple health care organizations have identified handoffs as a source of clinical errors; however, few studies have linked handoff interventions to improved patient outcomes. This systematic review of English-language research articles, published January 2008 to May 2015 and focusing on shift-to-shift handoff interventions and patient outcomes, yielded 10 774 unique articles. Twenty-one articles met inclusion criteria, measuring each of the following: patient falls (n = 7), reportable events (n = 6), length of stay (n = 4), mortality (n = 4), code calls (n = 4), medication errors (n = 4), medical errors (n = 3), procedural complications (n = 2), pressure ulcers (n = 2), weekend discharges (n = 2), and nosocomial infections (n = 2). One study each also measured time to first intervention, restraint use, overnight transfusions, and out-of-hours deteriorations. Studies that reported funding had higher quality scores. It is difficult to identify trends in the handoff research because of simultaneous implementation of multiple interventions and heterogeneity of the interventions, outcomes measured, and settings. The authors call for increased handoff research funding, especially for studies that include patient outcome measures.

Healthcare Delivery is Changing

The Patient Revolution by Krisa Tailor
Call Number: E-Book
ISBN: 9781119130185
Publication Date: 2015-12-15
In The Patient Revolution, author Krisa Tailor--a noted expert in health care innovation and management--explores, through the lens of design thinking, how information technology will take health care into the experience economy. In the experience economy, patients will shift to being empowered consumers who are active participants in their own care. Tailor explores this shift by creating a vision for a newly designed health care system that's focused on both sickness and wellness, and is driven by data and analytics. The new system seamlessly integrates health into our daily lives, and delivers care so uniquely personalized that no two people are provided identical treatments. Connected through data, everyone across the health care ecosystem, including clinicians, insurers, and researchers, will be able to meet individuals wherever they are in their health journey to reach the ultimate goal of keeping people healthy. The patient revolution has just begun and an exciting journey awaits us. Praise for the patient revolution "A full 50% of the US population has at least one chronic disease that requires ongoing monitoring and treatment. Our current health care system is woefully inadequate in providing these individuals with the treatment and support they need. This disparity can only be addressed through empowering patients to better care for themselves and giving providers better tools to care for their patients. Both of those solutions will require the development and application of novel technologies. In Krisa Tailor's book The Patient Revolution, a blueprint is articulated for how this could be achieved, culminating in a vision for a learning health system within 10 years." --Ricky Bloomfield, MD, Director, Mobile Technology Strategy; Assistant Professor, Duke Medicine "In The Patient Revolution, Krisa Tailor astutely points out that 80% of health is impacted by factors outside of the health care system. Amazon unfortunately knows more about our patients than we do. The prescriptive analytics she describes will allow health care providers to use big data to optimize interventions at the level of the individual patient. The use of analytics will allow providers to improve quality, shape care coordination, and contain costs. Advanced analytics will lead to personalized care and ultimately empowered patients!" --Linda Butler, MD, Vice President of Medical Affairs/Chief Medical Officer/Chief Medical Information Officer, Rex Healthcare "The Patient Revolution provides a practical roadmap on how the industry can capture value by making health and care more personalized, anticipatory, and intuitive to patient needs." --Ash Damle, CEO, Lumiata "Excellent read. For me, health care represents a unique economy--one focused on technology, but requiring a deep understanding of humanity. Ms. Tailor begins the exploration of how we provide care via the concepts of design thinking, asking how we might redesign care with an eye toward changing the experience. She does an excellent job deconstructing this from the patient experience. I look forward to a hopeful follow-up directed at changing the provider culture." --Alan Pitt, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Avizia "Whether you're a health care provider looking to gain an understanding of the health care landscape, a health data scientist, or a seasoned business pro, you'll come away with a deeper, nuanced understanding of today's evolving health care system with this book. Krisa Tailor ties together--in a comprehensive, unique way--the worlds of health care administration, clinical practice, design thinking, and business strategy and innovation." --Steven Chan, MD, MBA, University of California, Davis