Big Data — the ability to collect, process, and interpret massive amounts of information — has reached health care.
Technology has created new business opportunities for health care entities — covered entities, business associates, and others — to use health data for financial purposes. This is true not only where the financial remuneration is for cash (e.g., the sale or marketing of a product using health data), but also in the creation of value for covered entities, their business associates, and third parties alike. Within health systems, Big Data will play a critical role in the move from volume-based care to value-based, accountable care. The ability to integrate, synthesize, and share complex health information can lead to enhanced coordination of care, potentially resulting in better health outcomes and lower costs.
Actualizing the promise of Big Data is not without its challenges — technical, institutional, operational, and legal. In many cases, the evolution of the law has not kept up with technology, resulting in a governing framework that is challenging to navigate. Foley has prepared a white paper titled Tapping Into the Big Value of Health Care Big Data: Top Legal and Regulatory Considerations on the Path to Monetization that will provide an overview of the U.S. federal and state considerations applicable to any business initiative that relies on Big Data, and provide some practical advice for those seeking to monetize Big Data in health care.