The use of big data and increasingly accurate analytical tools in the medical field could help improve patient care and treatment, reduce costs associated with health services, predict and prevent epidemic phenomena. Big data have changed and will change even more in the future many areas of health and medicine: from diagnostics to care to the management of health services. The insights gained from this huge amount of information, in health care can help researchers to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomena in order to improve the results of clinical trials, increase the productivity of health workers and improve the effectiveness of the practices themselves.

On these topics we interviewed Russ B. Altman, professor of bioengineering, genetics, medicine, and biomedical data science (and of computer science, by courtesy) and past chairman of the bioengineering department at Stanford University.