The healthcare industry produces an incredible amount of data – in fact, it is responsible for about 30% of the world’s total data volume, between electronic medical records, diagnostics, hospital admissions, and prescriptions. There are some incredible applications in this sector for all of its data, especially related to improving patient care. Some of these benefits include better treatment effectiveness, faster diagnosis, better design for clinical trials, reducing the time to market for new therapies, and creating personalized medical plans. However, the disastrous effects can be just as extreme if the data is poorly collected, stored, or used. Misdiagnosis, delayed treatments, medication errors, and even lawsuits are all possible if data is used incorrectly. 

One of the main issues facing the healthcare industry when it comes to using data is the fragmentation of all their data sources. Large organizations use over 40 different platforms, which can make it very difficult for knowledge workers to track down the information they need. Healthcare executives are well aware of this problem, with 80% claiming to not fully trust their organization’s data and ability to use it correctly. One potential solution to this issue is for an org to invest in a data warehouse, which would serve as a centralized repository for all relevant information. 

Source: Megadata