Health Care Data versus Health Care Information
Health care data are raw health care facts, generally stored as character, word,
symbols, measurements, or statistics.
Data in health care comprises a large variety of information ranging from clinical
data (e.g. clinical images, lab results, and reports), to administrative data (e.g.
human resources and purchasing) to financial data (e.g. costs and income).
Every day, a hospital produces huge amounts of data.
Health care information is processed health care data.
Information is an extremely valuable asset at all levels of the health care organization.
Health care data are the beginnings of health care information. We cannot create
information without data. Then, the health care information becomes the source of
health care knowledge.