Big Data Risks and Rewards

Before the Massachusetts Prescription Awareness Tool (MassPAT) was created, patients were able to take advantage of getting opioids prescribed by multiple providers undetectable by pharmacies attributing to the opioid epidemic. Prescribers are required by law to register for MassPAT before they can prescribe an opioid Big Data Risks and Rewards. MassPAT allows any prescriber to log into the website and view exactly which opioids the patient has been prescribed as well as when the last opioid prescription was filled. This tool helps prescribers identify possible misuse, abuse and even diversion of opioids which is helping with battling the opioid epidemic (Mass.gov, 2020).

A risk with using big data is the potential data breach. Within a ten-year period starting in 2019, there was over 3,000 data breaches in healthcare which involved over 230 million patient records (HIPAA Journal, 2020). When it comes to electronic health records, patient information can include personal information such as a date of birth, social security number as well as a patients social and medical history which if landed in the hands of unauthorized individuals can have detrimental consequences. Healthcare facilities and/or providers can be sued and or face fines that can be costly.

At my current place of employment there are security measures in place to prevent a data breach including HPAA training, the use of passwords and anti-virus software.  According to Enzoic (2020), “80% of data breaches due to compromised passwords, user authentication and passwords are a legitimate concern”.  Every so often I am required to change my password to enhance security measures.  Not sharing your password with coworkers or leaving your profile open at work so others can use your computer is safe practice and protects the staff, company and most importantly the patients.

References

Enzoic, M. (2020, January 13). Employee Password Security for Healthcare Providers. Security Boulevard. https://securityboulevard.com/2020/01/employee-password-security-for-healthcare-providers/.

HIPAA Journal. (2020, February 18). Healthcare Data Breach Statistics. HIPAA Journal. https://www.hipaajournal.com/healthcare-data-breach-statistics/. 

Mass.gov. (2020) Massachusetts Prescription Awareness Tool (MassPAT).  https://www.mass.gov/guides/massachusetts-prescription-awareness-tool-masspat

Discussion: Big Data Risks and Rewards

When you wake in the morning, you may reach for your cell phone to reply to a few text or email messages that you missed overnight. On your drive to work, you may stop to refuel your car. Upon your arrival, you might swipe a key card at the door to gain entrance to the facility. And before finally reaching your workstation, you may stop by the cafeteria to purchase a coffee.

From the moment you wake, you are in fact a data-generation machine. Each use of your phone, every transaction you make using a debit or credit card, even your entrance to your place of work, creates data. It begs the question: How much data do you generate each day? Many studies have been conducted on this, and the numbers are staggering: Estimates suggest that nearly 1 million bytes of data are generated every second for every person on earth.

As the volume of data increases, information professionals have looked for ways to use big data—large, complex sets of data that require specialized approaches to use effectively. Big data has the potential for significant rewards—and significant risks—to healthcare. In this Discussion, you will consider these risks and rewards Big Data Risks and Rewards.

To Prepare:

• Review the Resources and reflect on the web article Big Data Means Big Potential, Challenges for Nurse Execs.
• Reflect on your own experience with complex health information access and management and consider potential challenges and risks you may have experienced or observed.

By Day 3 of Week 5

Post a description of at least one potential benefit of using big data as part of a clinical system and explain why. Then, describe at least one potential challenge or risk of using big data as part of a clinical system and explain why. Propose at least one strategy you have experienced, observed, or researched that may effectively mitigate the challenges or risks of using big data you described. Be specific and provide examples Big Data Risks and Rewards.

By Day 6 of Week 5

Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days, by offering one or more additional mitigation strategies or further insight into your colleagues’ assessment of big data opportunities and risks.

There is a continuous generation of data in the healthcare system, which requires effective management for proper functioning of the nursing organizations (Thew, 2016). For effectual management of data by nurse executives, methodological data processes are required in the healthcare environment Big Data Risks and Rewards. Accordingly, the coordination process necessitates the linking of various sets of functions in the healthcare environment that continuously generate large data pools (Thew, 2016). The data linking process prompts the nurse executives to identify and draft functional methods that will facilitate an efficient flow of data in the healthcare environment. This essay presents a reflection of significant data risks and rewards in the healthcare environment. 

The ability to enhance the effective management of data in the healthcare environment provides the nurse executives with the capacity to enhance success of the healthcare system (Thew, 2016). For instance, the nurse executives’ proper management of data enables them to identify the areas of the business enterprise that requires adjustment for the effective functioning of the healthcare environment (Thew, 2016). Thus, the healthcare system can achieve the desired returns by incorporating desirable aspects of data management. Consequently, nurse executives can manage data efficiently by adopting big data management technological tools in the healthcare environment (Thew, 2016). Technological systems can process vast amounts of data rapidly in the healthcare system. The rapid mechanism of data processing offers the healthcare environment the capability of inducing the desired performance in the healthcare system (Thew, 2016). Therefore, the healthcare system can meet the patient demands through the integration of satisfaction. Furthermore, the adoption of healthcare informatics technology has aided a rapid advancement in managing data in the healthcare environment Big Data Risks and Rewards. 

Besides, the adoption of inefficient means of managing data in the healthcare environment can trigger several risks (Razzak et al., 2019). The risks can lead to low functioning of the healthcare system, limiting the patient treatment processes. For instance, the use of obsolete technological equipment in the healthcare environment can distort data management in the healthcare system (Razzak et al., 2019) Big Data Risks and Rewards. The affected processes of data extraction and management in the healthcare system will, in turn, distort effectual data linking mechanisms in the healthcare environment. The improper means of data linking will afflict the healthcare system’s patient treatment processes (Hulsen et al., 2019). Poor patient treatment can lower patient satisfaction, impacting the reputation of the healthcare environment negatively. The reduced capacity of patients’ satisfaction will also retard the achievement of the mission and vision of operation of the healthcare system (Hulsen et al., 2019). The limited ability to achieve the mission and vision of operation will imply the failure of the healthcare system to execute its mandate. Moreover, the nurse executives’ work performance will be limited considerably by incorporating the inefficient means of big data management in the healthcare system (Hulsen et al., 2019) Big Data Risks and Rewards. 

From the above illustration, it is clear that effective management of data in the healthcare environment is necessary for proper functioning of the healthcare system. Accordingly, the incorporation of efficient technological equipment such as healthcare informatics will facilitate data management in the healthcare environment, enhancing its performance. Besides, using obsolete equipment in the management of data in the healthcare environment will limit the performance of the healthcare system lowering the achievement of its mission and vision of operation. Consequently, the nurse executives’ work performance will reduce due to inadequate data management mechanisms in the healthcare system Big Data Risks and Rewards. 

References

Thew, J. (2016). Big Data Means Big Potential, Challenges For Nurse Execs. Retrieved 26 December 2020, from https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/nursing/big-data-means-big-potential-challenges-nurse-execs. 

Razzak, M. I., Imran, M., & Xu, G. (2019). Big data analytics for preventive medicine. Neural Computing and Applications, 1-35. 

Hulsen, T., Jamuar, S. S., Moody, A. R., Karnes, J. H., Varga, O., Hedensted, S., … & McKinney, E. F. (2019). From big data to precision medicine. Frontiers in Medicine, 6, 34. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2019.00034/full. Big Data Risks and Rewards