The Unreasonable Effectiveness, and Difficulty, of Data in Healthcare

Abstract

Data and data analysis are widely assumed to be the key part of the solution to healthcare systems' problems. Indeed, there are countless ways in which data can be converted into better medical diagnostic tools, more effective therapeutics, and improved productivity for clinicians. But while there is clearly great potential, some big challenges remain to make this all a reality, including making access to health data easier, addressing privacy and ethics concerns, and ensuring the clinical safety of "learning" systems. This talk illustrates what is possible in healthcare technology, and details key challenges that currently prevent this from becoming a reality.