Uniqueness and Difficulty of HealthCare Data
1. Much of the data is in multiple places.
Healthcare data tends to reside in multiple places. From different source systems, like EMRs or HR software, to different departments, like radiology or pharmacy. The data comes from all over the organization. Aggregating this data into a single, central system, such as an enterprise data warehouse (EDW), makes this data accessible and actionable.
Inconsistent/variable definitions; Evidence-based practice and new research is coming out every day.
2. The data is structured and unstructured.
Electronic medical record software has provided a platform for consistent data capture, but the reality is data capture is anything but consistent. For years, documenting clinical facts and findings on paper has trained an industry to capture data in whatever way is most convenient for the care provider with little regard for how this data could eventually be aggregated and analyzed. EMRs attempt to standardize the data capture process, but care providers are reluctant to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to documentation. Thus, unstructured data capture is often allowed to appease the frustrated EMR users and avoid hindering the care delivery process. As a result, much of the data captured in this manner is difficult to aggregate and analyze in any consistent manner. As EMR products improve, as users become trained to standard workflows, and as care providers become more accustomed to entering data in structured fields as designed, we will have more and better data for analytics.