Data mining is a relatively new area of applied computer science that aims to discover previously unknown patterns hidden in large data sets using computational methods from statistics, artificial intelligence, and database management. The applications of this field are numerous, including applications in engineering, business, and even recreation, among others. Recently, data mining has been found to be particularly applicable to the field of health care.
Evidence-based medicine is a method of pharmaceutical research that seeks to utilize evidence gathered from the objective, expansive data generated by scientific studies in order to develop new medicines. This is a task that data mining is naturally suited for. By analyzing data collected from clinical trials and medical records, data mining can be used to discover patterns in the effects of specific pharmaceutical drugs, the knowledge of which can then be used to simplify the task of creating new medicines.
Data mining can also lead to more informed health-care management decisions, by offering a new and powerful tool for health care informatics. By mining the data sets of individual health centers, patterns can be discovered in management and care that can lead to knowledge of how different health care management practices succeed or fail, leading to public policy more likely to bolster successful practices and phase out ineffectual and damaging ones.
There are already several companies in existence with divisions that specialize in dealing with health care data, including branches from leading technology companies, such as the Dell health informatics division at Dell, Inc. Health informatics is a prime example of a field, which successfully utilizes data mining, among other techniques, to streamline the storage and use of data in health care environments.
Data mining is a rapidly developing field, and its applications for health care will continue to develop along with it. From pharmaceutical research to improving public health policy, data mining has only just begun to reveal its possibilities for the advancement of the health care field.
