Health data science: Challenges and opportunities in Latin America

Data science is a discipline dedicated to analyzing and processing data with the purpose of turning it into actionable knowledge. In healthcare, data science has had an impact in recent times, mainly due to the generation of large volumes of complex data, a phenomenon known as big data. The use of this information improves decision-making in healthcare and, therefore, quality of life in the general population. This discipline can provide very important benefits to Latin America. However, the region's structural problems, both social and economic, in addition to the fragmentation and segmentation of health information systems, represent great challenges for data management. This article will review the most relevant aspects of health data science in Latin America.