Finzer predicts that the possibilities for medical research could be expanded through a strategic deployment of the data-gathering and -analysis technologies now becoming available. Currently, huge amounts of data are already being generated for each patient—raising hopes for the possibility of highly personalized medicine—as well as by clinical studies and other methods that promise to allow comparison across populations. Although data storage and access present security and privacy concerns, Finzer points out that the benefits far outweigh the risks, which can be mitigated. Both local and internet-based storage solutions have been proposed for minimizing the possibility of patient data theft.
Finzer hopes not only that data will be gathered and stored but also that the medical community will recognize the need for more medically-trained data scientists to analyze the data. Often medical researchers simply employ a computer scientist with little medical knowledge to perform specific analysis-related tasks. Results produced using this method are likely to overlook important factors, correlations, or anomalies in the data. A closer collaboration between medical and data science, Finzer says, would allow researchers to fully exploit the possibilities the vast amounts of available data present by increasing understanding in the medical and data science fields of how data is organized and what it implies, respectively, allowing better collaboration on projects where the two are strongly intertwined. For example, computer modeling could speed or improve clinical trials of treatments in humans. The field of genetics also routinely employs computer models.
