What is something someone new to the healthcare data field might be surprised to learn?

One thing that often surprises people new to healthcare data is that even in a modern hospital, patient information is typically scattered across a dozen different computer systems—lab results, pharmacy records, physician notes, and billing—none of which were designed to share data seamlessly, so getting a complete picture usually requires manual reconciling or expensive “bridge” software, and without that work the data you have is often incomplete or misleading.