By Healthcare Facilities Today

Are the real hurdles to using big data in healthcare social and not technical? asks FierceHealthIT.com. According to an article on its website, a report authored by Gina Neff, a professor in the department of communication at the University of Washington in Seattle argues just that, saying that big data won't cure us because although data-intensive modeling has immense potential, figuring out how to use it is a bigger challenge.

Neff's report says that the ways in which health technology innovators have talked about the power of data neglects key aspects of the social interoperability or integration of data into health solutions, according to the article. "How will such data be integrated into care providers work practices; through the complex routines of clinics and hospitals; and into existing legal, social, political and economic frameworks?" Neff asks.

Five things are necessary in any push toward big data in healthcare, according to the article: 

• Real conversations on data privacy

• Design that matters for clinical care

• Design that matters for patients, not just consumers

• New models for patient-doctor communication and how doctors can bring expertise to data

• Policy that embraces technological innovation

Read the article.

Read the full report.