Use of Descriptive Analytics is the becoming widespread, and being accepted as the norm for most healthcare organizations. They are descriptively using reporting tools and applications for better understanding of past performance, and categorizing and classifying mostly structured historical data.

The next level for healthcare organizations is the generation of operational and financial dashboards, clinical data archives, as well as departmental data marts, with a focus on the end-to-end information life-cycle and data warehousing. To turn data into actionable information, data warehousing has become an essential foundation with the explosion in the quantity of structured and unstructured clinical data. Business Analytics leverages these datasets to actually uncover the insights needed to positively impact clinical and operational decision making.

Healthcare Industry Transformation

The healthcare industry is moving to a value-based business from a volume-based business, resulting in a fundamental transformation of the industry. The pressure is on the healthcare providers and payers to deliver better outcomes as the consumer demands for enhanced healthcare quality are increasing. With people living longer, infectious diseases and chronic illnesses becoming more pervasive, and the focus on defensive practices in medicine, healthcare cost dynamics are changing dramatically. Competition and complexity are increasing due to new healthcare delivery approaches and by new entrants in the market.

How can Business Analytics be successfully deployed by administrators for their day-to-day operations, and effectively impact their individual decisions? We embrace the Five-Step DELTA Model to deploy and succeed in analytical initiatives. This implementation-focused outline employs these steps:

  • DATA: Glean valuable analytical insights through more effective use of data.
  • ENTERPRISE: Utilize enterprise level management in the coordination of technology, data and people.
  • LEADERS: Supporting the work of the analytical leaders in the organization.
  • TARGETS: Choosing realistic targets for analytical activity and evaluation.
  • ANALYSTS: Actively recruit, hire and manage analysts.

Getting Started in Business Analytics

Often healthcare organizations are either reluctant or incapable of pushing forward towards better decision making through Business Analytics. Organizations that are characterized by a siloed, fractured approach to operations are often the ones that can reap the most benefits, yet are the most challenging in producing the necessary fundamental changes. Even having vast amounts of data at their disposal, most organizations fail to utilize them in any meaningful way. But, impressive results have been obtained by many healthcare firms through aggressively leveraging their data in important business and clinical decisions with the help of Business Analytics.

Simple operations, like identification of key activities, creation of simple metrics, regularly reporting on them, and acting on the emerging patterns, can start the move to an Analytics driven environment. It draws people towards thinking about data analysis and utilizing fact based decision making models. Making the connections between assumptions and actual fact based realities. Getting people to think about the use of fact based decision paradigms is the most important aspect of Business Analytics. And in this shifting healthcare environment, it is highly essential to use the art of sound reasoning combined with the science of Quantitative Analysis. Analytics can act as the road map and tool-set to unleash the potential buried in the data of your organization.