Data has become the new currency driving innovation and progress across various industries. However, when it comes to data monetization in sensitive areas like medical imaging, there’s often a hesitancy or reluctance to embrace it fully. Many perceive data monetization as a taboo subject, something covered in ethical concerns and privacy issues. But what if we challenge this notion and explore how data monetization in medical imaging can be a force for good?
Firstly, let’s clarify what we mean by data monetization. Data monetization is the process of using data to obtain quantifiable economic benefit. This can take the form of using data to improve business performance or externally to grow revenues. Iin the context of medical imaging, it involves leveraging the vast amounts of data generated through medical imaging technologies such as MRI, CT scans, and X-rays for various purposes, including process improvement, research, product development, and improving patient care.
Internal data monetization involves utilizing medical imaging data to enhance clinical decision-making, optimize workflows, and improve patient outcomes. By analyzing patterns and trends within this data, healthcare providers can uncover valuable insights that help them deliver more personalized and effective care. For example, identifying that the average scan wait time is longer with a certain tech can show needs for training and help evaluate operational efficiency. But data monetization can also be reflected in improving the reporting process for radiologists by standardizing study and series descriptions enabling hanging protocols to function better.
Externally, data monetization opens opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Healthcare organizations can partner with technology companies, research institutions, and pharmaceutical companies to share anonymized imaging data in exchange for valuable insights, expertise, or financial compensation. This collaboration not only fosters innovation but also accelerates the development of new medical technologies and treatments, while creating potential new revenue sources.
So why is there still hesitancy around data monetization in medical imaging?
- Patient protection is a huge concern with data monetization. It’s crucial to ensure that proper safeguards are in place to protect patient confidentiality and comply with regulatory requirements such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) or GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) By anonymizing data and implementing robust security measures, healthcare organizations can mitigate these risks and build trust with patients.
- The fear of commercializing healthcare and prioritizing profits over patient well-being is another concern. However, data monetization doesn’t necessarily mean compromising ethical principles or sacrificing patient care. On the contrary, it can empower healthcare organizations to reinvest revenue generated from data monetization into improving infrastructure, expanding access to care, and funding research initiatives that benefit patients directly.
Data monetization can make innovative medical technologies and treatments more accessible to everyone. By sharing imaging data with researchers and developers, healthcare organizations contribute to the collective knowledge pool, driving advancements that ultimately benefit patients worldwide. This collaborative approach fosters a culture of innovation and progress, ultimately improving the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery.
Data monetization in medical imaging doesn’t need to be a dirty word; it’s a powerful tool for driving innovation and improving patient care. Enlitic is focused on both. Enlitic standardizes imaging data using advanced AI to allow it to be searchable. Then, that data gets anonymized, using the same advanced technologies to ensure PHI is removed from pixel data and metadata (including private tags) while retaining all the clinical relevance. This creates a high-quality database that can be monetized without the additional resources of relabeling and cleaning.
Let Enlitic show you how you can monetize your medical imaging data.
