Benefits and Barriers in Mining the Healthcare Industry Data

Abstract

The authors’ paper addresses the applications of data mining within the healthcare industry. Healthcare data are seen as one of the more rewarding and most difficult of all data to analyze. Proper data mining techniques provide the methodology and technology to transform the voluminous amounts of data into useful information for decision making. Data mining can be utilized to help find cures for existing diseases, uncovering patterns for genetic diseases and the causes of new diseases across the globe. By implementing data mining techniques the industry is finally gaining control over the inadequacy of readily available records. Data mining has been used in patient care, healthcare plans, and administration. By utilizing these methods, hospitals and healthcare insurance providers alike are able to save millions of dollars, administration headaches, and most importantly, countless lives.