Big data analytics : Understanding its capabilities and potential bene fi ts for healthcare organizations

Article history: Received 17 June 2015 Received in revised form 11 November 2015 Accepted 12 December 2015 Available online 26 February 2016 To date, health care industry has not fully grasped the potential benefits to be gained from big data analytics. While the constantly growing body of academic research on big data analytics is mostly technology oriented, a better understanding of the strategic implications of big data is urgently needed. To address this lack, this study examines the historical development, architectural design and component functionalities of big data analytics. From content analysis of 26 big data implementation cases in healthcare, we were able to identify five big data analytics capabilities: analytical capability for patterns of care, unstructured data analytical capability, decision support capability, predictive capability, and traceability.We alsomapped the benefits driven by big data analytics in terms of information technology (IT) infrastructure, operational, organizational, managerial and strategic areas. In addition, we recommend five strategies for healthcare organizations that are considering to adopt big data analytics technologies. Our findingswill help healthcare organizations understand the big data analytics capabilities and potential benefits and support them seeking to formulate more effective data-driven analytics strategies. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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