Toward High-Quality Real-World Laboratory Data in the Era of Healthcare Big Data

Abstract

With Industry 4.0, big data and artificial intelligence have become paramount in the field of medicine. Electronic health records, the primary source of medical data, are not collected for research purposes but represent real-world data; therefore, they have various constraints. Although structured, laboratory data often contain unstandardized terminology or missing information. The major challenge lies in the lack of standardization of test results in terms of metrology, which complicates comparisons across laboratories. In this review, we delve into the essential components necessary for integrating real-world laboratory data into high-quality big data, including the standardization of terminology, data formats, equations, and the harmonization and standardization of results. Moreover, we address the transference and adjustment of laboratory results, along with the certification for quality of laboratory data. By discussing these critical aspects, we seek to shed light on the challenges and opportunities inherent to utilizing real-world laboratory data within the framework of healthcare big data and artificial intelligence.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Big data; Data quality; Harmonization; Laboratory medicine; Real-world data; Standardization.

Fig. 1. Improving patient outcomes through analytics performed on big data gathered from various sources.

Fig. 2. ‘Big data-to-big data loop’ of laboratory tests in the Industry 4.0 era.

Fig. 3. Essential components for building high-quality laboratory big data.