American Journal of Medical Research 5(2), 2018

pp. 28–33, ISSN 2334-4814, eISSN 2376-4481 doi:10.22381/AJMR5220183

BIG DATA ANALYTICS CAPABILITIES, THE BUSINESS VALUE

OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, AND HEALTHCARE
ORGANIZATIONS: THE NEED FOR CONSENSUS IN
EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICAL PRACTICES

KAREN COATNEY
coatney@aa-er.org
The Cognitive Labor Institute, New York

ABSTRACT. Employing recent research results covering the relationship between big data
analytics capabilities, the business value of information technology, and healthcare organi-
zations, and using data from Dresner Advisory Services, IBM, Knowledgent, McKinsey
Global Institute, and Rock Health, I performed analyses and made estimates regarding
adoption of big data by vertical industry, value potential from use of big data, how smart
money is fueling digital health, and the importance of big data in healthcare organizations.
Empirical and secondary data are used to support the claim that in conjunction with cutting
edge machine learning, clinical data sources facilitate the swift propagation of prediction
patterns for numerous comparable clinical issues.

Keywords: big data analytics; information technology; healthcare organization

How to cite: Coatney, Karen (2018). “Big Data Analytics Capabilities, the Business Value of
Information Technology, and Healthcare Organizations: The Need for Consensus in Evidence-
based Medical Practices,” American Journal of Medical Research 5(2): 28–33.
Received 28 April 2018 • Received in revised form 14 July 2018
Accepted 16 July 2018 • Available online 15 August 2018

1. Introduction
Ascendingly growing quantities of data in diverse formats from various sources
question a healthcare organization’s conventional data management capabilities. Big
data analytics capabilities may further IT-enabled transformation routines, being
instrumental in business value (Dușmănescu et al., 2016) for healthcare organi-
zations. Patient data should be transformed into relevant information that reinforces
evidence-based decision-making and valid use routines for healthcare organizations.
Big data analytics may to further consensus in evidence-based medical practices,
especially where decision support capability is carried out. (Wang et al., 2018)
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2. Literature Review
Big data analytics is an innovative frontier for improving healthcare provision.
With the chances brought about by digital and information advance, the healthcare
sector can capitalize on the possible advantages of using big data technology. Big
data analytics progressively provides value (Lăzăroiu et al., 2017) to health care by
enhancing healthcare quality and end results and supplying profitable care. The
predictive character and pattern-recognition feature of big data analytics facilitate
the transfer from experience-based medicine (Pera, 2018) to evidence-based one.
(Mehta and Pandit, 2018) Big data analytics capabilities, activated by its perfor-
mances, generate developments in IT-enabled transformation routines, thus boost-
ing possible advantages for healthcare organizations. Data interpretation is a key
big data analytics characteristic which enables clinical data to be conceived in a
constructive manner to reinforce physicians’ and nurses’ regular undertakings and
assist healthcare managers in making swifter, superior decisions. (Wang et al.,
2018) The wearable device is an essential connection between health care and big
data analytics. (Wu et al., 2017)

3. Methodology
Using data from Dresner Advisory Services, IBM, Knowledgent, McKinsey Global
Institute, and Rock Health, I performed analyses and made estimates regarding
adoption of big data by vertical industry, value potential from use of big data, how
smart money is fueling digital health, and the importance of big data in healthcare
organizations. Empirical and secondary data are used to support the claim that in
conjunction with cutting edge machine learning, clinical data sources facilitate the
swift propagation of prediction patterns for numerous comparable clinical issues.

4. Results and Discussion

Environment-awareness facilitates recognition of infrequent patterns (Andrei et al.,
2016a, b) and makes more accurate conjectures regarding the situation. Additional
sensors and regulators can be linked to the systems to convey information to the
medical staff (e.g. video and instantaneous physiological data). The swift advance
of the Internet of Things and the fashionableness of wearable devices have brought
about personalized health care, raising healthcare access and customization. Hard-
ware and software should be set up to team up to deal with cutting edge IoT tech-
nologies (Popescu et al., 2017) and their function in the healthcare sphere. (Firouzi
et al., 2018) Machine learning assesses patterns related to an end result precisely
from the data, and not from a pre-particularized series of variables. An entire array
of connections and relations among the data are evaluated. Machine learning
employs a training process through which the pattern is ceaselessly provided wide-
ranging data sets (Ionescu, Lăzăroiu, and Șerban, 2013) to analyze numerous per-
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mutations of predictive characteristics to optimize prognosis. A trait of big data is
integrating unrelated data sources and types. (Shah and Rumsfeld, 2017) (Figures
1–5)

Figure 1 Adoption of big data by vertical industry

Sources: Dresner Advisory Services; my survey among 2,600 individuals

conducted December 2017.

Figure 2 Big data soars in importance in healthcare organizations

Sources: Knowledgent; my survey among 2,500 individuals conducted October 2017.

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Figure 3 Big data use cases by vertical industry

Sources: Dresner Advisory Services; my 2018 estimates.

Figure 4 Value potential from use of big data

($ billion per year)

Sources: McKinsey Global Institute; IBM; my 2018 estimates.

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Figure 5 Smart money is fueling digital health

Sources: Rock Health; Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology,

University of California, Berkeley; my 2018 estimates.

5. Conclusions
Data-driven clinical prognostications are usual in medical routine. In conjunction
with cutting edge machine learning, clinical data sources facilitate the swift
propagation of prediction patterns (Lăzăroiu et al., 2013) for numerous comparable
clinical issues. Whereas established methods are chiefly contingent on data from
groups that are rigorously designed to diminish predisposition, evolving data sources
are commonly less configured (Nica et al., 2014), as they were constructed to
satisfy a distinct goal. Issues such as patient self-selection, misperceiving by
indication and incoherent accessibility of outcome data may generate unintentional
propensity in machine predictions. (Chen and Asch, 2017) There are five big data
analytics capabilities in healthcare: one for models of care, an unstructured data
one, a decision support one, a predictive one, and traceability. (Wang, Kung, and
Byrd, 2018)

Acknowledgments
This paper was supported by Grant GE-1347812 from the Center for Health Management at
CSA, New York.
Author Contributions
The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and approved it for publication.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or
financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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