Big data is changing the way healthcare is managed, enabling a revolution in knowledge management and data analytics. Since its foundation, the MeS Laboratory has integrated and analyzed large amounts of data on an individual level through access to the administrative health databases of Tuscany and through the collection of survey data.
The analysis of these data and the sharing of the results with managers and health professionals has allowed, over the years, to improve the level of knowledge of the system, the sustainability of the health system, its responsibility and transparency, the quality and equity of care. This research is strictly in line with the objectives of the EMbeDS Department of Excellence. In particular, among the research areas in which Big Data are currently used, we can identify the following:

• data linkage and data mining techniques applied to health administrative data for the identification and classification of chronic patients and the analysis of their consumption and care models;
• data analysis on the web communication of health organizations;
• statistical analysis techniques applied to large banks containing geo-referenced health administrative flows for the analysis of the mobility of users of health services as well as for local planning of health services
• use of text mining techniques for the analysis of narrative comments left by patients as part of the satisfaction and experience surveys of users of health services.