GMED - 3 Big Data Health Stocks to Watch in 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for healthcare companies to make sense of all the data at their disposal so they can give better patient care, track resources and supplies, and accurately forecast capacity.
It's complicated stuff -- which is where medical big-data companies come in. The problem isn't a lack of information, but the contrary. The amount of data can be overwhelming, and that calls for better analytics.
Insurers, hospitals, and medical manufacturers are looking for ways to cut costs. In 2018, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimated that 17.7% of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) went toward healthcare. That figure is expected to rise to 19.7% by 2028. While healthcare spending is rising globally, that 17.7% of the GDP that is spent in the United States is well above the worldwide average of 10%, based on 2017 data from the World Health Organization.