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Clinics & Covid-19, Will Data Help Control the Next Pandemic?

Written by byteIQNovember 22, 2021

Covid-19 was an eyeopener for the global health community and effectively demonstrated how, apart from a few countries, ill-prepared we were to handle a pandemic. The siloed and decentralised nature of all healthcare data became the biggest stumbling block to identifying it and getting it under control. Next time, we are sure to do better…

Data is Key

Covid-19 presented with many of the symptoms of flu, which complicated early diagnosis, as many ER doctors and GPs would treat it as flu, discharging the patient and treating the common symptoms in the usual manner. Once identified in China, analysis led to identification of Covid-19 and the full gene sequence was released to the WHO and other organisations. China locked down its border and the source of the identified outbreak, introducing nationwide monitoring in every location. This involved temperature checks and contact tracing, both of which involved big data projects and helped prevent further spread.

Data vs. Privacy

Covid-19 has demonstrated that data usage is the primary way to predict, detect and control any pandemic. However, privacy advocates rightly state that anonymising all healthcare data is necessary, even in a pandemic situation, even if a public health emergency is declared. That said, data allowed Covid-19 vaccine creation in record time, allowed researchers to identify variants as they arose and allowed public health authorities to identify clusters and outbreaks as they occurred. Global collaboration allowed supply chain improvements for protective equipment and equipment such as respirators. Many nations introduced apps to allow contact tracing and isolation of possible carriers once the infection was detected.

With experts predicting future pandemics, it’s clear that data will have a major role to play in the next one. Is your organisation ready to protect your community and help identify it?

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