Opportunities and challenges of Big Data Analytics in healthcare : An exploratory study on the adoption of big data analytics in the Management of Sickle Cell Anaemia.

Background: With increasing technological advancements, healthcare providers are adopting electronic health records (EHRs) and new health information technology systems. Consequently, data from these systems is accumulating at a faster rate creating a need for more robust ways of capturing, storing and processing the data. Big data analytics is used in extracting insight form such large amounts of medical data and is increasingly becoming a valuable practice for healthcare organisations. Could these strategies be applied in disease management? Especially in rare conditions like Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)? The study answers the following research questions;1. What Data Management practices are used in Sickle Cell Anaemia management?2. What areas in the management of sickle cell anaemia could benefit from use of big data Analytics?3. What are the challenges of applying big data analytics in the management of sickle cell anaemia?Purpose: The purpose of this research was to serve as pre-study in establishing the opportunities and challenges of applying big data analytics in the management of SCDMethod: The study adopted both deductive and inductive approaches. Data was collected through interviews based on a framework which was modified specifically for this study. It was then inductively analysed to answer the research questions.Conclusion: Although there is a lot of potential for big data analytics in SCD in areas like population health management, evidence-based medicine and personalised care, its adoption is not a surety. This is because of lack of interoperability between the existing systems and strenuous legal compliant processes in data acquisition