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Structure the unstructured data

Unstructured data mainly consists of PDF files, which are not easily searchable or reusable. Structured data, on the other hand, is divided into data elements, organised according to a fixed format. This allows for analysis, trend discovery and easier data editing and linkage.

Take, for example, a healthcare provider who takes a patient's medical history and notes his findings. This is often done in free text, without a standardised format. This means that one healthcare provider uses different terms than another. If you want to conduct research on that data later, it becomes very difficult. Free text allows for interpretation, while structured data is much more precise and reusable. Structured data requires a fixed set of codes and standards for diagnoses and treatments.

One of the major challenges is that collecting and storing data in a structured manner is still very labour-intensive. A lot of manual work is required to deliver data correctly, which makes the process complex.

Source: article Zorgnet-Icuro: https://www.zorgneticuro.be/artikel/belgie-koploper-op-het-vlak-van-gegevensdeling