BELMONT, MASSACHUSETTS - It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future. Still, we can be quite sure that the amount of healthcare data in the world will grow significantly in 2022. 

Increased investments in improving the quality, relevance and effectiveness of healthcare data will drive successful applications of artificial intelligence (AI) for better health outcomes. Better data will provide the healthcare industry with an opportunity to leapfrog other industries in terms of giving individuals more control of their own data, the systematic collection and standardization of data from all sources, and the development of data-centric AI practices. 

Unbound Growth of Volume, Variety and Velocity of Data Will Continue

COVID-19 made us aware of the important role high-quality data plays in the successful enlistment of AI in humanity’s battle with diseases and in keeping people healthy. Spurred by the increased digitization of medical records, healthcare’s share of all the data created worldwide in 2020 amounted to 21 zettabytes or 21 trillion gigabytes, representing about 30 percent of the world’s data volume, according to RBC Capital Markets, and Massachusetts-based global market intelligence firm International Data Corporation. The compound annual growth rate of healthcare data between 2018 and 2025 is predicted to be 36 percent, a much faster rate of data growth than that of other industries, including financial services at 26 percent.

In addition to the rapid digitization of data that previously resided on paper or film, healthcare data has recently been generated in many new settings and end-points. Here, too, COVID-19 has helped move the industry forward in embracing new practices and processes that increase the sheer variety of data sources. Telehealth, remote patient monitor