Initially, it was only massive companies that could utilize the advantages of big data. More recently, with the help of data analytics tools and data scientists, smaller companies are able to gain the same insights. Now, even individuals are reaping the benefits of big data. An example of this is the trending use of mobile health and medical devices and apps.
“Wearable” Data:
Fitstar, Healthy Out, Allergy FT, Luminosity, Sleep Bug, HealthTap, Vida… The list goes on: Fitbit, Garmin Vivoactive, Moov, Motorola Smart Watch and Life Alert. They’re everywhere. Everyone has them…on their wrists and in their pockets.
A runner, training for a marathon uses a wrist band to track how many miles she has run. A diabetic uses another app to track his insulin and blood sugar levels. A body builder uses an app to track his nutrition levels and how much he is getting from his food. A student, who sits all day in lecture halls uses his smartwatch to make sure he is walking enough during the day. My forgetful mother uses an app to help remind her to take medicine. I personally use an app to schedule appointments with my doctor.
Anyone can (and many do) use mobile apps and mobile health gadgets to help better their personal health. Many find them to be helpful, by providing motivation through targets, to ensure weight loss. Some people may find the sleep trackers helpful to determine conditions that allow for a better night of sleep. Really, the possibilities are endless.
Facing the Critiques:
As described, many people around the world find these devices and apps to be particularly helpful. Yet these apps and gadgets still face a great deal of critique. I have heard people saying that individuals may be less inclined to visit a doctor because they think they are healthier by monitoring their blood pressure. Their blood pressure is fine, so they must assume they are healthy and do not need the presence of a doctor.
However, another critique completely contradicts this. Others say that people are freaking out about a minor symptom because a web app told them that they may die from it. For example I recently saw a meme that showed a symptom search of something along the lines of “shaking and trembling associated with…” in WebMD. The results, in the following order were: diabetes, cocaine use, cannibalism in Papua New Guinea. While this is just a joke, there are some instances where this is more realistic. For example, I was once led to believe that a canker sore was actually a symptom of being anemic. Cases similar to this may cause increased concern, and a plethora of unnecessary doctors’ visits. However, like myself, I am guessing that many people schedule an appointment, and discover that their symptoms go away before the appointment even rolls around.
Furthermore, nearly anything that we use today can be used for bad. This is especially true with technology. For example, many cursed at the use of the internet in the 1960’s. Certainly there are some negative side effects of using the internet, but I am pretty sure at this point we can all agree that the positives outweigh the negatives.
Some of the daily uses of these mobile health devices for patients are: prescription management, appointment reminders, pregnancy and baby development, diet assistance, exercise and fitness, oxygen level checks, LifeScan for diabetics, symptom checkers and more.
I’m sure we can all agree that all of these uses would be considered “positives” versus negatives. As more and more players start using big data in the health, fitness and healthcare industries, I believe that the good will continue to outweigh the bad.
Expansion of Big Data in the Industry:
For now, the benefits of using big data for mobile health are affecting individuals greatly. As described, we can all use the devices to help ensure our own health. More recently, doctor’s offices have been starting to dip their toes into the pools of big data. We can likely expect the use of big data in this industry to increase.
As of now, I can log into an app that tracks my health records, messages from my doctor, my prescriptions and more. I can also make appointments with my doctor from my cell phone.
However, the use of big data (via mobile health apps and gadgets), could be used for additional services as well. For example, if I could share the information from my Fitbit with my doctor, then he or she could get a better understanding of my health. If I neglect to schedule consistent check-ups, I could go years without seeing a doctor. At that point, he or she has no idea how my health has been over the last several years. I could have a condition in which I only experienced minor symptoms, or symptoms I could not have personally detected. By linking this information to my doctor, they could detect changes in my health that may cause alarm. Therefore, it could lead to earlier detection of conditions and diseases, which could thus be treated sooner, and the treatment is more likely to be successful.
Even if I didn’t have a severe condition, it would still benefit my health. Without linking my mobile health devices, my doctors wouldn’t know how a divorce, or a new job affected my health. If they did, they could use that information as a preventative measure. This could help prevent sleeplessness, depression, etc.
It would be especially helpful for patients with ongoing health conditions. They would not have to waste their own time, or their doctors’ time coming in for checkups that may be unnecessary. It could even save their life. For example, if the mobile health app that a diabetic is using was linked with his or hers doctor’s office, then the doctor would know right away if the person’s diabetes was dangerously out of control, before an incident occurred.
Can Big Data Help Make Money?
Most certainly, yes. This is a HUGE industry. Really, big data can be used across all industries to make companies more money. This is especially the case in the health and fitness industry. Last year, the European Commission predicted that by 2017, 1.5 billion people will be using mobile health apps, which would generate 23 billion USD.
You may ask, if they are generating this much money, doesn’t that mean that the consumers are paying for these apps? So wouldn’t they be losing money?
The costs to consumers would be displaced by the money that the person would spend on an office visit. For example, you could buy a $3.99 app that would save you a check-up at the doctor’s office that would normally have a co-pay of $30. Also, it promotes preventative and holistic health, which typically reduce costly doctors’ visits.
Would it Actually Save Us Money?
I certainly think so. And so does the European Commission. In March, 2014, they published a green paper on mobile health. It predicted that the use of mobile health technology could reduce health costs by 99 billion euros.
Think about it, the mobile health devices themselves are much cheaper alternatives to monitor health. Furthermore, they eliminate the need of physical check-ups to check things like blood pressure and weight. This saves the customer money, but also saves the industry money because they will not have to purchase the devices to check these things. They can also use big data to help detect Medicaid fraud.
Technology, the internet and big data have all made things more efficient. They have made academics, businesses, governments and personal lives more useful, economical and useful. We can do more, with less time and less money. This is no different in the health industries. It will certainly be interesting to see how the use of big data will spread into the industry more.
No comments:
Post a Comment