12 Jan Harnessing data to foster research and improve public health

Jomol P. Mathew and Robert N. Golden, Wisconsin Medical Journal (WMJ)

When COVID-19 was spreading throughout the world, health care providers and researchers needed rapid access to data that were emerging at lightning speed. Fortunately, we were able to leverage currently available data analytics and digital technologies in our battle against COVID-19. Electronic health records (EHR), which became more widespread following enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, allowed iterative studies of symptoms and patient responses to treatments, while mobile technologies assisted in tracking the spread of the virus. Video-based technologies provided remote communication between providers and patients, and social media and the internet helped disseminate information. These developments likely contributed to the vastly reduced death toll (6.58 million worldwide as of November 11, 2022) compared to the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic (approximately 50 million worldwide). The COVID-19 pandemic radically changed our perspectives on how to conduct research and clinical care, and it set the stage for data-driven biomedical research and clinical practice. Read more …