Big data in nursing: What should we know?

Abstract

Big data is a term for data sets that are so large or complex that traditional data processing application software is inadequate, which is described in 4As i.e. Volume, Variety, Velocity, and Veracity. Few examples of big data are Clinical data, Insurance and cost data, Patient behaviour & sentiment data and Research data. The use of big data technologies can help nurses and other healthcare providers improve care quality, optimize outcomes, and reduce the cost of healthcare. The ability for nurses to make optimal clinical decisions in the clinical area is dependent on having access to accurate, real- time information regardless of care setting. Currently, there are no agreed- upon rules for which data standards and nursing terminologies should be used, thus nursing documentation remains inconsistent even within a single hospital that has adopted a single nursing terminology. With inconsistent documentation and lack of agreement on standards, nursing data can’t consistently be used for quality measurement or improvement.