The Benefits of Data Analytics in Healthcare

Industries today are embracing the critical value of data analytics in their organization. They invest in building a stable information management system to store their data and create a group who will extract meaningful insights from the stored data.

This holds true even in the field of healthcare. That is why institutions are drastically waving goodbye to manual processes and now focus on automation. One avenue to focus on is data analytics. They are learning to capitalize on insights and analytics from whatever data they have, to serve patients in a faster and accurate manner.

Why then is Data Analytics Important in Healthcare?

Every data that enters into a system is a piece of a puzzle regardless of how simple it is. Data from patients, insights and diagnosis from the medical professionals, and hospital records combined can create a network of trends that can be beneficial.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Wuhan, healthcare professionals didn’t have any idea what the virus was all about, the reason why it was initially called Novel. The good thing is that over time, the World Health Organization and other healthcare experts around the country utilized their various data collection tools and processes which enabled information and knowledge to be shared across the globe. Though this has now become a pandemic, every country can do their trending and analysis of the data, classifying its severity and identifying the control measures that need to be done in each category. Understanding the relationship between patient demographics (age, sex, gender) and their existing health conditions through research and data can help healthcare professionals make object decisions. 

With data analytics, a clearer picture of a trend is seen right away. And once the pattern has been established, a sound analysis follows. With the use of data analytics tools, historical and even real-time trends can be displayed to help a healthcare institution act on an issue in a quicker manner.

Creating Solutions to Emerging Facility Problems

Data analytics in the healthcare field not only focuses on patient care, but they also are valuable in managing healthcare operations. The reports gathered from various departments play a vital role in enhancing the overall service delivery of the facility.

The Outpatient Department (OPD) is one of the busiest and can get even busier once ‘normal’ healthcare operations get back to how it was prior to the lockdowns implemented in most countries as one of the COVID-19 preventive measures. The predicament of most of the patients in the OPD is dealing with the long waiting times. It starts from patient registration, initial screening, checking HMO coverage, being lined up in the doctor’s waitlist until they get to the face-to-face interaction with their doctor. 

With data analytics coupled with nursing triage strategies, hospitals can come up with solutions on how to shorten the waiting time of the patients in the OPD. Perhaps, a process needs to be automated, or a procedure needs to be omitted or tweaked, or even empower patients to do transactions on their own.

Because of data analytics, creating solutions becomes more accessible and faster. Healthcare institutions need not spend much to implement improvement. They need not wait for months to prove that their solution is valid. With data backing up their plans and implementations, it is also easier to convince people to adhere to any changes done within the organization.

Research and Development

Healthcare is not all about treatment. More than that, prediction and prevention of the onset of any disease is important & crucial to accurately diagnose and manage treatment. This is where research and development enter the picture. However, it is not very easy to do experiments and clinical trials without data. With data analytics, researchers can proceed with the conclusion in minimal time.

One of the most controversial research these days is the use of Cannabis in treating diseases. A lot of clinical experiments have been done to prove the claim. Though it is not yet accepted by many, there are healthcare institutions backing up the trials because the results presented are supported with data analytics.

Data analytics can also help eliminate trials conducted on humans and animals. Life need not be sacrificed to prove the effectiveness of an experiment. Data itself becomes the proof. That is why healthcare institutions have designated the R & D department and bank on data analytics to help them prove their experiments. Because of this, continuous efforts to look for a cure to ailments we never thought can be cured is not hampered anymore.

Robust Data Management and Analytics System

The first step is to build a robust data management system. Having massive data that enters into the system, there is a need to make everything in order.  Any attempt to have a sophisticated data analytics set-up would fail if the data management system were set aside.

Healthcare institutions may invest in a sophisticated database so they can collect clean, complete, and accurate data.

Of course, the very purpose why data is collected is to be analyzed. Data must be transformed into meaty information and actionable plans that can be used for accurate diagnosis and identifying best treatment needed. It will be helpful if healthcare institutions have designated data analytics teams. They can also invest in artificial intelligence to make it more sophisticated.

However, a considerable chunk of the budget must be allocated to the operational and labor cost of quality analysts if they want to invest in effective data analytics. According to the market trend, a data analyst earns $60,000 a year in the US. Top data analytics tools cost thousands too.

Let Infinit-O Help You

To save on operational costs of up to 70%, a great option is to build a highly skilled Data Science Team, Research Analysts and even a Cyber Security Group with a trusted global solutions partner. Infinit-O is one that has a proven track record in the field of data analytics. We can help you meet your goals, whether they be growth, better productivity or simply bottom-line cost savings. With access to excellent talent who use cutting-edge technology, we provide some of the best strategic solutions for your business. We are ISO-certified and GDPR-compliant, so your company and client data are safe with us.

Let’s Build a Great Team for you – starting with Research and Data. 

Infinit-O is the trusted customer-centric and sustainable leader in Business Process Optimization to Small and Medium businesses in the Financial Services, Healthcare and Technology sectors by delivering continuous improvement through technology, data and people.