From a Revisionist Henry Ford to Healthcare: Why Data Quality is the Engine of Healthcare Transformation


A blog by Founder and CEO Will ElLaissi

I've got to say it. AI in healthcare will not achieve its hype if we don't take one thing very seriously — data quality.

There's so much talk around AI in healthcare, and for good reason. AI promises many efficiencies — in clinical care, research, and operational and administrative processes. However, much of the excessive hype comes from people who haven’t worked in healthcare, and they're missing one vital piece of the puzzle. AI solutions are only as good as the data that's used.

The Model T

The Model T

Henry Ford understood that horses were not a suitable mode of transportation, so he created the automobile. For a moment, let's consider a revisionist version of this time in our history. Henry Ford still creates the Model T, but it's affixed to a horse. Everyone goes wild over the innovation and how it will revolutionize travel. You look around dumbfounded, wondering, "Am I the only one who sees that this "car" is just attached to a horse?"

This is what it's like for healthcare practitioners who see so much hype around AI. No one talks about what it would actually take to achieve the transformation everyone predicts.

The problem with data in healthcare is its quality. Data values and units vary too much. Clinical and administrative concepts are not consistent, and there is immense variability in how data is captured and represented. If the healthcare industry doesn't focus on solving these problems first, AI will not take hold and create the efficiencies we know it can.

This is why Fullsteam Health's Data Curation Platform was developed and operationalized at Duke University Health System.

Our Platform

Our Data Curation Platform is a first-of-its-kind platform that:

  • Extracts data from multiple sources
  • Cleans and normalizes the data
  • Groups the data into the correct clinical and administrative concepts
  • Continually monitors the data and metadata to ensure that the concepts are maintained
  • Curates new data and group it appropriately

Conclusion

And just like that, Health Systems now have an asset they've never had before — curated, actionable data. It turns out the future everyone is speaking about is possible, and we're here to make it happen.