Every day听companies and organizations generate copious amounts of data. 鈥淏ig data鈥� isn鈥檛 so much about the amount of data generated, but rather, what a company or organization does with the data. In analyzing data,听businesses can use those insights to save money, to target marketing and advertising dollars, or, in the case of home听health听care, to better understand patient care and patient health outcomes.听
Influenced by his grandmother,听who was a nurse in Russia during World War II,听听began his career as an army medic in Israel. He听attended the听University of Haifa听in Israel, receiving his BA in Nursing and his MA in Gerontology;听he听received his PhD in Nursing听from the听University of Pennsylvania听and听attended听Harvard University for his postdoctoral fellowship. Currently, he听is the听Elizabeth Standish Gill Associate Professor of Nursing at Columbia University Medical Center, where he is a Nurse Informatician.听
Understanding Medical Data听
Nursing informatics is a specialized field of听research听that听utilizes medical data听to support the practice of nursing and improve patient outcomes. The听research Dr. Topaz is conducting is specifically focused on home healthcare, with the goal of using data to help clinicians make better decisions about patient care, and to help home care patients achieve better health outcomes. He works closely with听, the听largest not-for-profit home- and community-based health care organization in the United States.听
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in older adults. In an effort to identify the signs and symptoms that lead to patient deterioration, Dr. Topaz created an algorithm to mine the听free-text clinical notes听for approximately 90,000 patients.听His goal 鈥� to identify听clues听that point to a UTI听based upon the symptoms detailed in the听patient鈥檚听clinical notes. By听identifying clues and听establishing a pattern of symptoms that point to a听UTI,听home health nurses and caregivers听can听be trained听to听look for these听early听signs,听intervene appropriately,听and听ultimately reduce听hospitalizations.听听
Another similar application Dr. Topaz sees as possible with data and technology is developing a clinical decision support tool to help patients going into home care. This tool could be used to help clinicians prioritize patients based on their need, so that home health would know who required immediate timely care upon returning home versus individuals who have less urgent needs. Again, the goal with this use of data and technology would be reducing hospital readmissions and helping people recover at home.听听
Overcoming听Obstacles听
Dr. Topaz acknowledges that silos within the home health and health care industries can be barriers to adopting new technologies;听however, he points to the widespread use of electronic healthcare records as an example where significant change can occur in a relatively short period of time. In 2010,听fewer than 50% of hospitals听were听using electronic records, and today, it鈥檚 near 90%.听听
Dr. Topaz sees real opportunities for similar advancements in home health. He听aims to conduct a larger trial that mines data and extracts information from the free text of clinical notes听to answer important听nursing questions and identify important patient characteristics. Looking to the future, Dr. Topaz听believes that utilizing data to provide further insights into patient care can have monumental impacts听on听the home health and health care fields.听听
Listen to the full interview with Dr. Topaz by听visiting听the听听to learn more听about the exciting applications of big data in the home care field. This episode and others in the series can be found on听听or听.听
听provides听information and resources for families about adult care options. Podcasts are hosted by听,听executive vice president of听小猪视频听and听president and CEO of听, an award-winning听homecare marketing听agency.听听听
Help Choose Home is a collaborative effort by the听听(NAHC), 小猪视频, and corecubed to educate the public about the many benefits of the in-home care industry, which includes non-medical home care, private duty nursing care, medical home health, hospice, and other in-home health and wellness services.听听听