For the Middle East, Big Data is a big deal

 28-Jan-15, The Pulse, GE Healthcare

If a diabetic patient came into hospital complaining of numbness and pain in their toes, a doctor might assume diabetes is the cause. They could prescribe painkillers and send the patient on their way. But what if something more sinister was around the corner, like a stroke or an aneurysm?

Image: The Pulse / GE Healthcare

By using software that channels Big Data into readable, usable statistics, the doctor could instead monitor the patient’s blood flow and oxygen saturation and predict the likelihood of a stroke or aneurysm occurring. He could take a better-informed course of action and even share his information with other healthcare professionals.

This is the role Big Data could play in the emerging healthcare systems of the Middle East and North Africa, where the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is predicted to cost over USD 68 billion by 2022. By 2030, almost 80% of deaths in the Middle East will result from NCDs, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer.

To make matters worse, the region is lagging behind when it comes to gathering and sharing clinical data. They still rely on traditional data like medical records and histories, as well as real-time data on a patient’s condition. 

A new generation of applications is changing that. In Saudi Arabia for instance, the Ministry of Health and GE Healthcare are working to deploy an e-health interoperability standards program between different parts of the Kingdom’s healthcare system. In Egypt and Turkey, GE Healthcare has worked with healthcare providers to develop image exchange capabilities, enabling hospitals to share, store send diagnostic images for remote assessment. 

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