Big data has a vital application in healthcare industry. Social media will increase communication between providers, patients and communities. This will not only work to globalize and democratize healthcare, but it is also a potentially important source of big data. It will impact how these players engage with the healthcare ecosystem, especially when globalization, external data, regionalization, mobility and social networking are involved. The problem in healthcare isn't the lack of data but the lack of information that can be used to support decision-making, planning and strategy. In healthcare, big data challenges are compounded by the fragmentation and dispersion of data among the various stakeholders, including payers, data vendors, standards organizations, providers, labs, ancillary vendors, financial institutions and regulatory agencies. The entire healthcare system can realize benefits from democratizing big data access. Big data can make decision support simpler, faster and ultimately more accurate because rational decisions are based on higher volumes of data that are more current and relevant. Read more at: