Summery by Emr Industry
- The soaring cost of healthcare is one of the top problems facing the U.S. today. The per capita spending on healthcare is the highest in the world at a whopping $8,508 per person. This accounts for almost 18 percent of the average income of individuals
- The worst part is healthcare costs are expected to nearly double within the next decade.
- The second and third prizes were won by Southern Methodist University and the Oklahoma State University respectively.
- The national meet has been successful since 2006 and it is hoped that this will encourage students to come up with innovative solutions to solve the major problems faced by the society today.
Original News
The soaring cost of healthcare is one of the top problems facing the U.S. today. The per capita spending on healthcare is the highest in the world at a whopping $8,508 per person. This accounts for almost 18 percent of the average income of individuals. This amount has grown by 818 percent since 1960, thereby making the U.S. the most expensive country in terms of healthcare today. The worst part is healthcare costs are expected to nearly double within the next decade.
Where does all this money go? The surprising answer is prescription drugs that cost on an average three times more than other countries.
At a time when experts are looking to counter these financial problems with complex solutions such as Obamacare, a team of students from the University of Alabama have presented a viable solution.
The team used SAS analytics to predict the cost of the top five medical conditions in New Hampshire from 2012-2020. Based on this assessment, they have presented a program to reduce the incidence of these diseases through effective prevention strategies that is expected to help the country save around $180 million in healthcare costs. If this model could be extended to other states, it can help the country as a whole to save billions in healthcare.
This idea naturally won them the top spot in the National 2013 SAS Analytics and Mining Shootout sponsored by the Institute for Health and Business Insight and Teradata Corporation. The second and third prizes were won by Southern Methodist University and the Oklahoma State University respectively.
This competition encourages young minds to think out of the box and come up with creative solutions. The national meet has been successful since 2006 and it is hoped that this will encourage students to come up with innovative solutions to solve the major problems faced by the society today.
