Using Big Data to design better health care plans

A 2016 report by the National Institutes of Health estimated that electronic health records in the U.S. will gather 25,000 petabytes of data annually by 2020. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Let’s be honest: terms like “data analytics” tend to make many people’s eyes glaze over. The idea of number-crunching health care data sounds like a good way to improve benefit plans, but it also sounds like a complex subject—and it is.

Brokers who have been dealing with data analytics say this is why a good, reliable partner is so important when delving into this area of technology. Consumer education and communication are important, but like retirement investing, most laypeople aren’t going to want to get into the weeds of data analytics and how it affects health benefits. Having an expert who can explain the concepts and strategies will do a lot to make data analytics truly useful to companies and their employees.