Week 4 Reflection

 Big Data and Healthcare

    The amount of data in the world is overwhelming. The subject of big data, actionable data, and predictive analytics is difficult to grasp by many, including myself. As a nurse educator, I need to do my best to wrap my brain around these concepts so I can relay that knowledge to my students.

    Big data is defined by IBM as "data sets whose size or type is beyond the ability of relational databases to capture, manage and process the data with low latency." Actionable data a useful byproduct big data. Big data analytics collects the excessive amounts of data and organizes it into a concise report, which presents an actionable plan for decision-making. These reports are used in healthcare to help lower costs and achieve better patient outcomes.

    Predictive analytics is when descriptive data is used to predict potentially adverse events in a patient. It takes real-time data from biomedical devices such as patient vital signs, labs, and assessment findings, and can foresee when the patient's condition may worsen in the near future. This can be incredibly valuable to doctors and nurses caring for high-risk patients. Having even a few moments of warning can lead to better planning and decision-making for these critical patients. By using predictive analytics, patient lives are potentially saved.

    Health IT Analytics is a great website that does a good job explaining the differences between descriptive analytics, predictive analytics, and prescriptive analytics. Descriptive analytics tells clinicians what has already happened. Predictive analytics tells clinicians what is about to happen. Prescriptive analytics takes it a step further and recommends the best course of action to take if/when the predicted even occurs. WOW!!!

    The process of taking big data and changing it into smart data is incredible. Just knowing that this technology exists is mind-blowing. As a nurse educator, awareness and understanding of this technology is important. Improving patient care outcomes is at the forefront of my mind and I am grateful for the insight I now have into technology that can improve those outcomes. The YouTube video below has great details explaining differences between descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics.