Information Overload In Addition To Wellness Decision-Making (Part 1)
With the force to improve decision-making alongside electronic wellness records too related wellness information technology, a telephone substitution query to move answered is: How should nosotros bargain alongside information overload?
I’m defining information overload equally a solid soil of having to a greater extent than information available than i tin give the sack readily assimilate, that is, people lead hold difficulty absorbing the information into their base of operations of knowledge. This hinders decision-making too judgment yesteryear causing stress too cognitive impediments such equally confusion, dubiety too distraction.
Information overload tin give the sack adversely touching on several types of data-intensive health-related decisions, including:
- Decisions virtually wellness (preventing illness, maintaining health), which ought to accept into concern human relationship information such equally a person’s behavioral too genetic lead chances factors, grade of physical activity/exercise, stress too emotional distress levels, utilization of vitamins too dietary supplements, etc.
- Decisions virtually diagnoses (identifying an existing wellness problem), which ought to visit information such equally a person’s physical too psychological symptoms, lab examination results (of which at that topographic point are over 4,000), medical history, allergies, demographics, psychosocial problems, genetics, the mind-body connection, etc.
- Decisions virtually handling alternative too implementation (intervening to process a medical too psychological wellness problem), which ought to move based on a person’s diagnostic information, evidence-based guidelines, personal preferences, social back upwards network, available resources, etc.
Obtaining all this information requires the collection too analysis of a wealth of various data, including (but non express to):
- Physiological/biomedical problems too lead chances factors, e.g., torso organ too arrangement dysfunctions/disturbances; physical pain; divulge energy too attentional excesses too deficits; eating, sleeping, too sexual disorders; mobility problems; allergies; etc.
- Vital signs (e.g., midpoint beat, breathing rate, temperature, too blood pressure)
- Lab examination results (e.g., full general blood & urine screenings, microbiology, virology, cytopathology, histopathology, cytogenetics)
- Imaging studies
- Medications beingness taken
- Interventions beingness rendered
- Dietary supplements beingness used
- Medical/treatment history too personal demographics
- Affective-motivation-characterological dysfunctions/problems, e.g., intensity, frequency, too duration of negative touching on too emotional stability; maladaptive too unsafe behaviors including impulsivity, compulsions, too suicidality; personality too psychiatric disorders; etc.
- Psychological vulnerabilities, e.g., feel of helplessness too hopelessness; ineffective coping strategies; depression frustration tolerance; disturbing thoughts too negative emotions associated alongside them; traumatic experiences; self-image problems; etc.
Psychosocial distress, e.g., occupational, educational, too social/interpersonal dysfunctions; electrical current life-stressors; etc. - Psychoactive meat use, including alcohol & meat abuse, dependency, withdrawal
- Psychological-physiological (mind-body) interactions, including (a) biomedical illnesses/traumas that may crusade or exacerbate psychological symptoms, (b) medication side-effects that may crusade or exacerbate psychological symptoms, too (c) psychological factors that may crusade or exacerbate physical symptoms
- Genetic markers
- ICD too DSM diagnostic codes; CPT procedures codes
- Intake too discharge/outcomes data
- Healthcare utilization data
- Consumer satisfaction
- Motivation for self-care.
If a soul has a wellness work for which a substantial constituent of this information would improve decisions, information overload becomes a existent lead chances because at that topographic point is only likewise much information for a human hear to handle. So, shouldn’t nosotros utilization computers to collect too analyze all the information that may move relevant to a person’s condition?
I bet most would state utilization of computers to collect volumes of information virtually a person'e wellness problems makes feel if they could : (a) obtain, organize, too analyze all the relevant information without bully difficulty, inconvenience, too expense; (b) maintain sensitive patient information secure; (c) permit the information to move shared alongside authorized persons; too (d) utilization artificially intelligent software programs to brand feel of it all too assistance people brand amend decisions.
Unfortunately, this rational vision has non been realized. While reckoner mightiness too artificial word capabilities move along to growth exponentially (e.g., encounter Ray Kurzweil’s mass “The Singularity is Near”), too piece at that topographic point are efficient too effective ways to collect, organize, analyze, too portion all these data, humanity currently lacks the noesis too agreement needed to prepare a software arrangement able to comprise all this information to assistance guide health-related decisions.
So, what should nosotros do? Focus on collecting “minimal criterion information sets” that provides precisely about useful information too avoids overload, but are non plenty to improve wellness decisions substantially? Or should nosotros get down collecting comprehensive information fifty-fifty though nosotros lack the mightiness to utilization it all to back upwards decisions, fifty-fifty at the lead chances of information overload? What do you lot think?
This topic continues here.