Each chapter in this book represents a distinct stream of healthcare data. - clinical data is generated by health systems, claims data by insurers, and molecular sequencing data by sequencing machines. Because each data stream in healthcare has its own ecosystem and methods for analysis, each chapter is atomic and can be read by itself. If you’d like to establish an encyclopedic breadth of the various types of healthcare data streams, then by all means, read this book cover-to-cover. However, this book is meant as a reference so just use the Table of Contents to find the section you need.

If you are new to healthcare, then you should first read the ‘Primer on Healthcare Vocabularies’ section, as it provides a critical foundation for understanding health data, regardless of your goals or area of focus. ’