How Big Data can make people healthier in emerging markets

 21-Jul-15, Techonomy

In many emerging markets, reliable data on healthcare systems is limited or nonexistent. This makes it difficult to address urgent healthcare challenges in many countries. But a growing number of tech entrepreneurs and public health activists are finding ways to fill the data gaps.

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There are many gaps to address. Such healthcare systems and supply chains are not typically powered by modern IT systems. Large quantities of health data end up in paper records that are lost or forgotten. Undocumented cash transactions at hospitals and pharmacies are common.

Yet the situation is improving as healthcare systems everywhere get more digitized. And as smartphones and other connected devices proliferate, fertile new sources of data are emerging. 

Digital health startups are contributing as well. Online health information portals, disease management apps, telemedicine services, consumer-health wearables vendors, and countless other tech companies are gaining traction wherever there’s a signal.

Public health organizations and academic institutions are also working to leverage the power of big data for emerging markets healthcare. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is one of the most impactful, best known for its Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, a monumental initiative to systematically analyze the causes of disease and death in all countries.

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