Datapalooza 2015 is taking place this week in Washington, D.C. First convened in 2010, this offshoot conference of the Health Data Initiative has grown into a major gathering of more than 2,000 health care industry thinkers. With a stated mission to “unleash the power of health data,” the conference attracts tech experts, government policy makers, data entrepreneurs, and health care system leaders; a heady mix of thinkers, do-ers, and creative disrupters sure to make headlines in the health care space. Datapalooza is organized by the Health Data Consortium and the W20 Group.
One of the major seminar topics this week concerns the role of social media data in health care. While almost everyone acknowledges the potential of this rich resource, there is still major disagreement on how to tap into it accurately and responsibly. The implications for public health are immense and range from the ability to be warned of developing epidemics, signaling of drug adverse events, and early indicators of population health. Social media monitoring delivers big data that can uncover demographic trends in diet, exercise, and attitudes toward overall health. We look forward to seeing how the information gleaned from social media can help measure health care quality and improve patient safety and care.
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