Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom (DIKW)

I just returned from the outstanding UCLA Health Business Administration Conference.  The key point I learned was from Leo Petrossa introduction of DIKW.

Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom (DIKW)

• Data is the raw material we get (i.e., labs, images)
• Information: analysis of the data.
• Knowledge: application of the information
• Wisdom: intervention to prevent/treat the condition in the future
• Currently, physicians acted as data clerks and spent a 25-30% of their time entering data instead of interacting with the patient. The current system is clumsy. This leads to high rate of physician burnout, and dissatisfied patients.
• There’s been an effort to use Medical Assistants and Scribes to bridge the need. In other scenarios such as in radiology where the data comes in the form of imaging, technology can collect the data and analyze it, then it’ll help address some of the gaps. Time to diagnosis will be provided within minutes and providers can use this information to help patients quicker.
• Robots and AI can standardize and provide objective data and reduce variability in interpretation of data and provide this information faster.
• For example, FDA recently approved a Viz.ai decision support computer algorithm to interpret CT Head to directly alert neurointerventionalists when there is a stroke detected by the software.
• Leveraging big data using computer has been implemented in identifying patients for clinical trials (Deep 6), and optimizing provider networks in health insurance coverage (Oscar Health)

• Take home message:
  
• There are new waves of small companies using powerful, data-driven smart technologies to address and disrupt industries within healthcare by automating the data and information stages of DIKW and enable healthcare providers to focus their time on the Knowledge and Wisdom.