How Data Intelligence is Transforming the Health Sector

Sponsored by emlyon business school

Thanks to wearable fitness trackers like Apple’s iWatch and the Fitbit, keeping track of your own health has never been easier. From counting how many steps you walk each day, to monitoring your sleep pattern, technology is allowing us to monitor our health like never before. 

Practically every sector and industry in the world is jumping on the data intelligence bandwagon – and with good reason. It’s a lucrative market that can offer a wealth of innovative and sophisticated solutions, particularly to the health sector. The impact data intelligence can have on patients’ experience as well as the productivity of healthcare professionals is revolutionary.

We spoke to Benjamin Dalmas and Florencio Travieso, the program co-directors of the new MSc in Health Management and Data Intelligence ran by emlyon business school and Mines Saint-Etienne to find out.

What was the motivation behind the introduction of the MSc in Health Management & Data Intelligence degree program?

Dalmas: “In the last few years, we have witnessed a boom in the development of intelligent technologies. The healthcare sector is a suitable place for concrete applications and several breakthroughs have been achieved with the help of these technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine and deep learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

“However, while they provide enormous amounts of help in decision-making processes, they must also be controlled and monitored from a human and managerial perspective.

“This program answers the need of training active experts with a dual competence who are able to be the link between the high-tech and healthcare domains. They’ll also be able to exploit the power offered by technology while meeting the ethical and human requirements necessary within the healthcare sector.”

What will students learn and what skills will they gain?

Travieso: “Students will be challenged from a management and a technical point of view. The MSc will provide them with the tools to understand the new challenges of a constant changing industry, as well as acquire powerful methodologies to manage innovative and collaborative projects, and be knowledgeable and agile on new technologies such as IoT and AI.”

Dalmas: “The first part of the program is intended to make them discover the healthcare ecosystem, its stakeholders and its current and future challenges. A major focus will be made on how to manage such an organization and how to implement digital transformation projects. The second part of the program delves into 'data intelligence' technologies, such as AI and big data, as well as nanotech and omics technologies.

“The objective of the program is to make students aware of the existing technologies on the market, their pros and cons, and how to implement them in the healthcare sector. A major focus will be set all along the program on the ethical, compliance and regulatory aspects of such technologies in order to ensure fairness and transparency in their everyday use.”