Amazon's EHR-mining tool could be a game-changer for 'big data' in healthcare, analyst says

Julie Spitzer -

Amazon's new EHR-mining might be what the healthcare industry needs to make big data a reality, a GlobalData analyst told Digital Health Age.

The tool, dubbed Comprehend Medical, will use natural language processing and machine learning to highlight key data points — such as medical condition, medication dosage and clinical trial reports — in EHRs and unstructured clinical notes, which physicians can then use to inform a patient's care. Amazon said the insights will help clinicians tailor treatment to individual patients while reducing costs.

Edit Kovalcsik, PhD, managing healthcare analyst for GlobalData, told the publication: "While the development of the company's progress in digital health could be worrisome to pharma, whose traditional methods are failing to deliver adequate care to the growing consumer demand for more accessible care, Amazon's announcement also indicated that Roche is previewing the software to use it to convert unstructured data into useful insights and accelerate research and enable personalised healthcare.

"Whilst improving health outcomes, Amazon's software could alleviate growing healthcare costs and insufficient resources brought about by ageing populations and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases."

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