
Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: AI Predictive Analytics
Updated on Aug, 25 2023
Written by Dr. George Laliotis
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Big data and AI have become exciting buzzwords for almost anyone today, whether they know it or not. Their convergence has paved the way for some amazing breakthroughs like ChatGPT and more.
Big data and AI have been the catalysts for predictive analytics in many fields, including healthcare. From patient care and diagnosis to treatment and data management, AI predictive analytics in healthcare has brought a fresh new system.
In this article, we’ll dive deeper into how big data and artificial intelligence in healthcare work together, how it’s changing the future of digital health analytics, and what role Docus.ai plays in this joint revolution.
You’ll also get to learn about the pros and cons of predictive analytics in healthcare, so without further ado, let’s dive right in.
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Big Data in Healthcare?
Before you start understanding the dynamics between big data and artificial intelligence in healthcare, let’s first talk about one side of the coin. What is big data analytics in healthcare? Why is it important? Let’s talk about it all.
What is big data in healthcare?
Big data, as the word suggests, refers to a huge volume of either structured or unstructured data. In terms of healthcare, big data encompasses everything from patient records and medical imaging to research data and more. These are some of the most common examples of big data in healthcare you’d encounter.
What is the role of big data in healthcare?
After this massive data is collected in the field of healthcare, where does it go? What is it used for?
Well, the importance of big data in healthcare is huge, especially in its mission to keep growing further and further. More literally, having this data allows us to analyze it, identify patterns and trends, plus gather invaluable insights.
What is predictive analytics in healthcare?
After gathering big data and analyzing it, the next logical step in analytics is the projection of trends and data into the future.
When thinking about big data and predictive analytics in healthcare, imagine the power this gives healthcare professionals in forecasting potential health outcomes.
For example, if you visit a doctor regarding some health problem, they’ll be able to analyze your historical data and find early warning signs of potential diseases. Catching potential diseases early means that you’ll be able to use preventive measures as well as treat them better with more personalized knowledge.
So, how does big data analytics work with artificial intelligence?

Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
The integration of AI and data analytics in healthcare has been transformative, to say the least. Not only does AI upgrade the power of big data, but it also has the potential to change the healthcare industry from the inside out.
Let’s cover the other side of the coin and discuss the role of AI in big data and healthcare.
What is the role of AI in big data and healthcare?
It’s no secret that AI-powered systems have the ability to process and interpret tons of data in mere seconds. This speed is what makes AI the perfect partner in crime for big data.
The second factor that makes AI the perfect culprit for big data analytics in bioinformatics and healthcare is its ability to detect patterns and subtle correlations. While humans or other systems might miss such subtleties, AI notices almost everything.
Overall, the use of AI and big data in medicine helps develop more accurate diagnoses and predict patients’ health outcomes based on different treatments.
How AI changes the healthcare industry
AI has been a buzzword in healthcare for a very long time. From healthcare chatbots to medical imaging analyzers, AI has been making huge noise in the field. Looking at this more systematically, what exactly does AI do to change the industry?
The combination of big data and AI empowers healthcare to move from its reactive model to a more proactive and preventive one. AI makes healthcare more personalized and impactful, while also making it more efficient and accurate.
With predictive analytics at play, healthcare professionals are now able to make more informed decisions, allocate their resources in an optimal way, and focus on patients rather than bureaucracy.
As a whole, the use of big data in healthcare has paved the way for a more individualized approach, enhancing patient happiness, and improving overall healthcare outcomes.

AI Predictive Analytics in Healthcare
Big data and artificial intelligence in healthcare have come together to give rise to predictive analytics. Get ready to discuss some pros and cons, examples, use cases of AI, big data analytics, and much more.
Big data use cases in healthcare
Big data healthcare use cases are almost countless. With the power to significantly enhance patient care, streamline workflows, and support in drug development and discovery, it’s an exciting topic to dissect.
If the whole topic of AI and data in medicine is still unclear to you, let’s go over some big data analytics in healthcare examples:
- Supporting doctors in data-based clinical decision-making
AI systems know more than any individual doctor. Thanks to their vast knowledge of medical literature, they can support doctors with real-time insights used for decision-making.
- Predicting potential disease outbreaks
With integrated EHR systems and environmental monitoring, AI systems can identify macro-level disease trends and predict potential disease outbreaks.
- Developing personalized treatment plans for patients
AI systems can analyze individual patients’ data in order to come up with personalized treatment plans. If a patient has some sort of allergy or history of addiction, the treatment plan will be built around them.
- Analyzing medical images
Whether through image interpretation, classification, or quality enhancement, AI and big data have tons of applications in radiology.
- Advancing telehealth and remote patient monitoring
By analyzing patient data collected through wearable devices, smart AI systems can detect warning signs and send notifications to doctors when it’s time to intervene.
Now that we’ve covered some of the real-life use cases of big data in healthcare, let’s talk about some potential short and long-term outcomes.
Pros and Cons of Predictive Healthcare Data Analytics
To help you understand the concept of predictive healthcare data analytics to the fullest, we’ve identified some pros and cons to share with you.
This breakdown should also help you understand the opportunities and challenges that come with predictive data analytics in healthcare. Let's dive right in.
Advantages of big data in healthcare
1. Early detection of diseases
Due to its ability to notice the subtlest of patterns, AI predictive analytics can find early signs of diseases that the human eye can easily miss. This helps to intervene in a timely manner, increasing recovery rates and overall patient outcomes.
2. Personalized treatment plans
Healthcare shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all solution. This is where predictive analytics comes in to save the day with treatment plans tailored to each individual patient. As a result, treatments become more effective and leave fewer adverse effects on patients.
3. Cost efficiency
Another huge benefit of AI in healthcare is that AI makes healthcare cheaper for both patients and clinics.
AI makes the overall process of healthcare more efficient by reducing unnecessary procedures and taking on redundant tasks that the healthcare staff had to do before. So, with better resource allocation, clinics can save lots of funds.
Problems with big data in healthcare
1. Data privacy concerns
One of the biggest concerns that comes along with big data and AI in healthcare is data privacy concerns.
How can we ensure that sensitive patient data is being used in good faith? How can we make sure that nobody will hack into these digital systems and steal personally identifiable data of patients?
This concern means that appropriate rules and regulations must be in place before we as humans can fully accept and integrate such systems into healthcare.
2. Algorithm bias
AI algorithms are trained on huge amounts of data, which can be inconsistent and biased. In turn, the algorithm’s output will be unreliable. Leaving people’s health in the hands of such vulnerable algorithms is not something we’re ready for.
Nevertheless, this leads to the need for human oversight, which should already be a regulation to cover other concerns.
3. Complexity and training
Integrating AI-powered systems into existing healthcare workflows is complicated, to say the least. It involves training your staff, updating your workflows, and accepting lower levels of productivity during the transitional period.
Such systems also require a hefty investment, and although they will pay off in the future, it is still a tough decision to make.
There you have it folks - the A to Z of predictive healthcare data analytics. With the speed of change in this industry, the best thing you can do is try to keep up with the new advancements of the world. Who knows, maybe one day, an AI chatbot can really become your go-to doctor.

The Role of Docus.ai in Utilizing Big Data and AI
In the realm of big data and artificial intelligence in healthcare, Docus.ai has become a pivotal player. By harnessing the power of AI, Docus.ai has created a platform for generating health reports, getting diagnosed, and validating it all with top-rated health professionals from the US and Europe.
Docus also has a digital health assistant or healthcare chatbot that can near-accurately give initial diagnosis and treatment plan options based on answers to a couple of questions.
Although no other healthcare big data company has created technology that would be safe enough to use without the oversight of humans yet, Docus has found a solution that makes its platform a one-stop-shop.
By validating the AI’s diagnosis and treatment plans with real doctors from around the world, it can give reliable medical information. This means that any patient who uses Docus.ai can take this initial diagnosis and move forward with their local healthcare professionals.
Docus.ai is just a little taste of what the future of AI in healthcare has to offer.

The Future of AI in Digital Health
Now that you know more about the past and current states of big data and artificial intelligence in healthcare, let’s project into the future and see what else we can expect to see in both the short and long term.
It’s no secret that the trajectory of AI in digital health holds great promise. However, it comes with a great deal of concern as well. Balancing these benefits and downfalls will be the deciding factor in how quickly we will integrate AI and big data into our day-to-day lives.
Yes, predictive analytics will become more and more accurate, which can help develop personalized medicine and early disease detection. Will it still be able to replace the critical judgment of highly trained doctors? Definitely not in the near future.
Without going into too much detail, here are the trends we expect to see in the future of AI in digital health:
- Advancements in diagnostics and early detection of diseases
- Telehealth and remote monitoring
- AI-powered digital health assistants
- Human-AI collaboration
- Concerns about data security and privacy
From disease outbreak predictions to drug discovery, there are too many examples of big data analytics in healthcare that are too many to count on one hand.
One thing is clear - as technology continues to advance, the future of big data in healthcare, challenges and opportunities included, will expand with it. AI and big data are not going anywhere.
Conclusion
And there you have it folks - everything you need to know about AI, big data, and analytics in healthcare. From their importance and applications to their pros and cons, we’ve tried to dissect this powerful phenomenon.
With its amazing advantages and solvable concerns, AI promises to change the world of healthcare once and for all. Expect to see higher efficiency, lower costs, better accuracy, and better overall patient outcomes.
The story of big data and artificial intelligence in healthcare has not even fully begun. Stay in the loop to learn how the narrative unfolds as technology advances.
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