The existence of healthcare data in electronic format brings exciting opportunities to the healthcare community. Previously, most data were in the form of paper charts, which made it very difficult to search through the data to better understand healthcare issues; however, with the increasing adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) by providers and healthcare organizations, access to the data via biomedical informatics approaches is becoming increasingly feasible. However, having access to the data is not sufficient in itself, but requires the insight, knowledge, and skills to make the best use of the data. Much information is buried in this wealth of data, frequently referred to as “big data” due to its volume and requirements for new methods of analysis. Not only healthcare, but many other areas are facing the challenges of “big data” and developing novel methods to extract information from it. Healthcare can benefit from these advances in other areas, but must also understand and develop methodologies to account for the unique aspects of healthcare data.
Analysis of healthcare data can provide insight into issues such as disparities in care, effectiveness of interventions, and trends in disease occurrence. This occurs at a time when genomic information regarding human diseases is becoming more plentiful. Although at an early stage, EHRs will become repositories of a patient’s genomic information in addition to more traditional data. Combining analysis of a person’s genomic makeup with their healthcare data is an essential step in providing personalized medicine, which holds great promise for providing better treatment to patients, rather than the one-size-fits-all approach as practiced in medicine today. This genomic data will provide opportunities for better healthcare, but in doing so will dramatically increase the complexity of the “big data” in this field.
However, achieving the potential provided by the electronic access to data today and tomorrow requires individuals who are properly educated. This requires people who understand and are able to work in this interdisciplinary area. Interdisciplinary teams will become the standard in this field. However, individuals on the team will bring their own perspectives to the process, depending on their education and experience. Knowledge across subject areas will be absolutely necessary to allow team members to communicate effectively with each other and to achieve the optimal extraction of information from the data. Expertise in this area requires knowledge and skills in medicine, genomics, computer science, mathematics, data science, machine learning, and biomedical informatics. Unfortunately, currently individuals with such a diverse background are extremely rare.
It is not necessary for a person to be an expert in all these areas, but it is sufficient for her/him to be an expert in one or two areas with a basic understanding of the other areas. In recognition of this, the Biomedical Informatics Program of the Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM) is starting an elective track of courses in healthcare analytics for the students in its M.S. in Biomedical Informatics degree program. Under the forward looking leadership of the program director, Dr. Jennie Lou, the faculty of the Biomedical Informatics Program has developed three new courses (Introduction to Healthcare Analytics and Data Visualization, Quantitative Methods in Healthcare Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine) which will provide students with a rigorous introduction to this important area, starting with the Winter 2017 semester. These courses will complement the current opportunities for students in clinical decision support, special topics in health informatics, and a practicum to develop skills in analytics. The knowledge and skills gained via these courses, combined with the diverse backgrounds the students bring to the program initially, will allow them to become competent contributors in the area of healthcare data analytics. The Biomedical Informatics Program at NSU-COM is dedicated to preparing students for this wave of the future in healthcare.
The existence of healthcare data in electronic format brings exciting opportunities to the healthcare community. Previously, most data were in the form of paper charts, which made it very difficult to search through the data to better understand healthcare issues; however, with the increasing adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) by providers and healthcare organizations, access to the data via biomedical informatics approaches is becoming increasingly feasible. However, having access to the data is not sufficient in itself, but requires the insight, knowledge, and skills to make the best use of the data. Much information is buried in this wealth of data, frequently referred to as “big data” due to its volume and requirements for new methods of analysis. Not only healthcare, but many other areas are facing the challenges of “big data” and developing novel methods to extract information from it. Healthcare can benefit from these advances in other areas, but must also understand and develop methodologies to account for the unique aspects of healthcare data.
