Using “big data” to improve health care services and research

Abstract

The growth of large databases of health information has accelerated substantially as
computers are able to store and process these data with increasing efficiency. Analysis of
this growing cache of data has the potential to aid health care providers, improve cost and
efficiency, and inform public health policies, yet caution must be exercised in the interpretation
of results. Large databases cannot be assumed to be representative of the population
from which they are derived simply due to their size, and as with all research, sampling and
data quality issues must be carefully considered throughout the research process. This article
discusses advances in large database availability and research, including new avenues
that the data have opened, as