Data Lake
A centralized repository for raw, unstructured data
Overview
A data lake stores vast amounts of raw data in its original format until needed. Unlike structured data warehouses, data lakes accept and preserve all types of data. In the context of healthcare, this might include unstructured clinical notes, structured lab results and medical imaging data.
Key Features
Storage Capabilities
Raw data preservation:
- Original formats maintained
- No preprocessing required
Data Types
Healthcare data lakes store:
- Structured Data
- Lab results
- Vital signs
- Medication records
- Semi-structured Data
- Clinical notes
- Medical device outputs
- Research data
- Unstructured Data
- Medical images
- Patient recordings
- Genomic data
Healthcare Uses
Clinical Applications
Data lakes support:
- Population health analysis
- Clinical research
- Treatment optimization
- Disease pattern detection
- Resource planning
Research Benefits
Enable researchers to:
- Access raw data directly
- Perform custom analysis
- Test new algorithms
- Validate findings
- Share datasets
Data Management
Organization
Data zones include:
- Landing Zone
- Raw data intake
- Initial validation
- Processing Zone
- Data transformation
- Quality checks
- Analytics Zone
- Prepared datasets
- Research-ready data
Governance
Essential controls:
- Access management
- Data cataloging
- Version tracking
- Privacy protection
- Usage monitoring