The Life Equation: Big Data and Global Health

What If there were an algorithm for saving the most lives?

Overview

Big Data is being used to analyze and determine healthcare options and billions of people are affected. But what, and who, is lost in the number crunching? THE LIFE EQUATION introduces us to Jose, a new kind of health worker. When he meets Crecencia Buch, a mother of seven with cervical cancer, he faces a daunting question. The price for her treatment is $10,000 and, at best, it will buy only a few years of life. That money could fund thousands of pap smears -- a cost-effective way of catching cancer early. Should Jose take Crecencia's case on? Across the globe an underfunded hospital in remote Nepal needs a doctor to perform Caesareans. Dr. Shree Ram Tiwari is willing but his expertise does not come cheap. Should the hospital hire him?