BIG DATA AND VISUAL ANALYTICS IN PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY AND HEMATOLOGY

Abstract

The potential of big data in healthcare relies on the ability to detect patterns and turn high volumes of data into actionable knowledge for precision medicine and decision makers. Due to constantly increasing amount of data, healthcare systems around the world are facing challenges associated with data processing and analysis while keeping costs under control. There is a number of examples where the use of big data in healthcare already provides solutions that optimize patient care and generate value for healthcare institutions. However, a further increase in the amount and variety of dynamically changing data in healthcare systems requires that all the relevant stakeholders collaborate and adapt the design and performance of their systems. To this end, it is necessary both to invest in the human capital and to build the technological infrastructure to house and converge a huge volume of healthcare data. It is also important to provide a set of tools that can improve data analytics by creating interactive visual interfaces to help analysts navigate and make sense of massive datasets. Here we provide an overview of international advanced initiatives related to big data analytics in various sectors of public healthcare that are aimed at obtaining new knowledge, improving clinical care and rationalizing epidemiological surveillance. Here we also share our own experience of applying visual analytics tools in the "Electronic Passport of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Service." This passport was created by specialists from the Dmitry Rogachev National Medical Research Center of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology of Ministry of Healthcare of Russia in order to improve the quality of specialized care in the Russian regions. This software solution is based on data from checklists and questionnaires (baseline assessment) completed during an outreach event and its preparation as well as from correspondence regarding the implemented corrective measures (baseline and follow-up assessments). This system is an important tool that helps improve the quality of monitoring of the pediatric oncology and hematology service. The structured electronic database allows the user to rank the Russian regions based on a whole range of parameters as well as to generate recommendations for process optimization in regional institutions. In such a complex information system, a user-friendly interface for the processing of large volumes of heterogeneous dynamic data is crucially important.