A rural local health district analyses five years of de-identified hospital admission data. The analysis shows that the district has a high rate of preventable hospitalisations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
In response, the district redirects funding into community-based respiratory clinics and home-monitoring programs.
Which of the following best explains how this use of big data reduces healthcare spending?
- It allows GPs to identify individual patients at high risk of COPD and intervene early.
- It directs funding to services that prevent costly hospital admissions where need is greatest.
- It reduces spending by shifting the cost of COPD care from hospitals to patients.
- It replaces hospital-based treatment with digital health services for all COPD patients.