Accessing clinical patient data can be like drinking from a fire hose. From diagnoses and labs to genomics and social determinants of health, the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming. Yet despite all this available data, painting an accurate picture of an individual’s health can be a significant challenge.

So why is it so difficult to create a patient’s “digital twin?”

In this insight brief, we explore some of the common obstacles to gathering, integrating, and leveraging clinical data, such as:

• Siloed information within the electronic health record and between health IT systems
• Varied data accessibility
• Inadequate capture of detail or specificity
• Inconsistent data structure; and
• Variations in clinical terminology

After all, if we are to succeed in developing a digital record that truly reflects a patient’s conditions – both past and present – understanding what stands in the way is an essential part of the process.