The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), is a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve healthcare through better use of information and technology. One of their projects is The Health Story Project. The project is dedicated to compiling a comprehensive electronic record that can be shared to improve care through collaboration and analysis. Considering over a billion clinical documents are produced in the U.S. annually, most electronic patient records and health information exchanges operate on a minuscule percentage of the available information. According to Judith Lamont, a research analyst with Zentek Corp, better utilization of obtainable information could produce better outcomes.
One of the most promising technologies for moving the process of optimizing the utilization of available information forward is graph database technology. Enriched by semantic analysis and integrated into a data fabric, graph database technology can facilitate effective use of the diverse information that provides clues to find solutions for complex diseases. In addition, graph data models allow the interpretation of data coming from different sources including structured data from relational databases to unstructured sources, from documents to images. It enables the process of interpreting data by representing data as sets of entities called nodes and connections referred to as edges.
The other major advantage of graph databases is the flexibility to add to and change the data model—a significant asset in a constantly evolving field such as healthcare. For instance, additional entities, whether people, locations, facts, or events, can be incorporated into the model as they become available. The structure of the graph database lends itself to establishing profiles of other patients, quantifying their characteristics, and then analyzing likely outcomes for the particular patient. Furthermore, the ability to quantify patient characteristics as well as finding documents related to a patient makes it a versatile tool.
The healthcare field thrives on creating connections, whether among patients, physicians, in R&D, or in predicting medical outcomes. Hence, it is no wonder that graph database products are proliferating because of their ability to discern relationships and accommodate rapidly changing data sources.
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