Week 1 Discussion - When we talk about assets we may think of money

Week 1 Discussion

When we talk about assets we may think of money, buildings, people, or supplies, but in healthcare, the asset that is growing in volume and importance, is data.  In Rick Smolan’s book The Human Face of Big Data, two statements relate to our discussion this week and the course in general.

“Every two days, mankind creates as much information as it did from the dawn of civilization until 2003. The amount of information that an average person is exposed to in a day is the same as a person from the 15th century was exposed to in his lifetime (Smolan, 2012).”

After reading the above information from Smolan’s book, think about the amount of data you generate or interface with daily. Compile a list of all the data point interactions and trace where the information originates and eventually ends. For example, if you use your credit card, where does the transaction information go and how is it used.  Are you concerned about the explosion of data and your personal information? Why or why not?