5. Infostructure and Infrastructure
1. Introduction to Infostructure and Infrastructure
(This section is organised in the form of a book, please follow the blue arrows to navigate through the book or by following the navigation panel on the right side of the page.)As utilisation of digital technologies in healthcare systems is expanding, more and more data are being collected. Organisation and integration of the collected data from different sources, called data curation, becomes more obvious in big data. Adequately curated health data can be integrated with other data, such as environmental and geospatial data, which may be beneficial in early trend detection (e.g. forecasting of outbreaks) [1]. The most significant advantage of health data comes from combining data from different sources and creating a big data pool. Researchers can then generate results from diverse data sources by employing big data analytics.
However, proper use of health data is contingent on well-designed info- and infrastructure. This approach also dictates the degree to which health information can be merged with information outside healthcare, e.g., environmental information.