Creation of Big Data repositories is now emphasized at virtually all research institutions and the NIH, but the number of publications describing patient outcomes from these sources appears modest.1 Why is this so; what factors limit what should be a hugely productive resource, and how can we improve the impact of this use of Big Data? Why does this issue require greater physician engagement and understanding to solve? The integration of clinical, laboratory, and financial data is required to describe disease and treatment outcomes as well as treatment value.
For more than a year before her stage 4 lung cancer was found, 35-year-old Alisa Secaida, a never-smoker and a physically active Southern Californian, had been experiencing a persistent cough and, increasingly, fatigue.
