The unique data issues explored in Navigating the Health Data Ecosystem by O’Reilly prove to be accurate regarding today’s modern, fast moving data environments. Health care has the unique demand regarding datasets that do not sync when compared to retail or corporate enterprises.
The most perplexing issue surround support for human physiology is computing standards and compliance requirements. I recall working directly on large datasets for clinical trials that confirm the challenges outlined.
Navigating the Health Data Ecosystem indeed has “Six C’s”: Understanding the Health Data Terrain in the Era of Precision Medicine. Honestly at times it felt like 6 dozen C’s in O’Reilly’s guide from 2014.
Clearly the biggest “C” challenge is complexity. From the outside it may seem like an uphill battle but from within the health care data marketplace its like climbing Mount Everest…over twenty times. Many views navigating the Health Data ecosystem are a direct result of the Affordable Care Act.
However we should not ignore the opportunities facing the health care industry. It is still surprising to fully understand that electronic medical records (EMR) is still hand coded, data can be accurately labeled in multiple ways (including fax) while legacy data systems are still in operation. This causes a tremendous burden for effective change management systems to be effective given the unrealistic demands the public has regarding Health care data.