Business View - March 2015 13
Pitt, CMU, UPMC FormAlliance to
Transform Health Care through Big Data
Today's health care system generates massive
amounts of data – patient information in the electron-
ic health record, diagnostic imaging, prescriptions,
genomic profiles, insurance records, even data from
wearable devices. Information has always been essen-
tial for guiding the care of individuals, but computer
tools now make it possible to use that data to provide
deeper insights into disease itself.
Leveraging "big data" to revolutionize health care and
wellness is the focus of the new Pittsburgh Health
Data Alliance, a powerful collaboration announced
today by Carnegie Mellon University, the University of
Pittsburgh and UPMC.
For example, the use of smart data could help hos-
pitals and doctors rapidly detect potential new out-
breaks and immediately alert staff and authorities to
take appropriate actions. Systems based around this
principle of finding emerging events in complex data
sets have already been made possible by collabora-
tions among UPMC, Pitt, and CMU.
This one-of-a-kind alliance is a wide-reaching com-
mitment to advance technology and create new data-
heavy health care innovations over the coming years,
resulting in spin-off companies and furthering eco-
nomic development in the region.
The alliance, funded by UPMC, will see its work car-
ried out by Pitt-led and CMU-led centers, with partici-
pation from all three institutions. The centers will work
to transform the explosion of health-related data into
new technologies, products and services to change
the way diseases are prevented and how patients are
diagnosed, treated and engaged in their own care.
