Perioperative medicine and Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Informatics
• Clinical Research
• Big Data Analytics

Background:

• Big data, defined by volume, velocity, variety, and veracity, is increasingly generated in healthcare.
• The Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) is a large, comprehensive nationwide population reimbursement database.
• NHIRD enables integrated analysis of demographics, diagnoses, and diverse clinical information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the utility of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) for perioperative medicine research.
• To showcase the potential of big data analytics in understanding complex medical situations and improving healthcare.
• To emphasize the growing trend of utilizing NHIRD for studies in surgical outcomes, trauma, stroke, diabetes, and healthcare inequality.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort analyses utilizing the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD).
• Integration of demographic, clinical diagnosis, laboratory, and imaging data for comprehensive analysis.
• Leveraging big data characteristics (volume, velocity, variety, veracity) for robust research findings.

Main Results:

• NHIRD studies provide insights into disease incidence, prevalence, management, and clinical outcomes.
• Research utilizing NHIRD has covered diverse areas including surgical adverse outcomes, trauma, stroke, diabetes, and healthcare inequality.
• The database facilitates studies that avoid selection and participation bias due to its large sample size and universal coverage.

Conclusions:

• The Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) is a valuable resource for advancing perioperative medicine research.
• Big data analytics, especially using NHIRD, offers promising viewpoints for understanding medical complexity and improving patient care.
• Continued research using NHIRD is expected to significantly contribute to the progress of perioperative medicine and establish it as a key research doctrine.