Data driven health system

Abstract

Effective use of data is believed to be the key to address systemic inefficiencies in health innovation and delivery, and to significantly enhance value creation for patients and all stakeholders. However, there is no definition for health data. Rather, data in health is an assortment of observations and reports varying from science to clinical notes and reimbursement claims that emerge from practice rather than design. What is health data? In this thesis we try to answer that question by looking at the system of health almost exclusively as a system that generates, transforms, and interprets data. We overview the different meanings data has throughout the health system, we analyze systematically the inefficiencies and trends as they emerge from data, and propose a new architecture for the system of health in which data is not present by accident. The result of this thesis is a new architecture for the system of health that is consistent with its present state but also consistent with a future learning system and a redefinition of value in health care that is patient and information centric.