Many experts believe that when it comes to business intelligence, no industry is in greater need than the healthcare sector. Unlike other vertical markets who have readily embraced BI tools to deliver greater insight and improve operations, healthcare firms such as hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities have been slow to adopt the needed technologies to achieve these goals. Some analysts feel that while healthcare organizations have become proficient at collecting and storing data, they have yet to understand how to actually use it.
For example, few healthcare organizations can easily consolidate and access the information that resides in various clinical, research, administration, and patient information systems (the average healthcare organization can have dozens of applications in place). Additionally, only a handful of them are equipped to monitor the key performance indicators that provide insight into efficiency, or the true quality of patient care. And, the instantaneous and dynamic sharing of information with partners such pharmacies, labs, and external care providers is virtually non-existent in today’s healthcare firms.
Yet, with competition at an all-time high, and increasing pressure to streamline administrative activities and related expenses, while improving overall patient care, these firms need to begin leveraging the vital intelligence that exists within their infrastructures to gain an edge.
How can business intelligence be most successfully applied in healthcare scenarios? For starters, financial analysis can enable more informed budget planning and management, uncover new revenue opportunities, and help healthcare firms implement more informed and successful cost-cutting initiatives. And, operational performance management can help locate inefficient processes and workflows, or identify areas in need of improvement.
But, financial and administrative uses of business intelligence-type technologies are not all that uncommon in healthcare. However, firms in this industry have been slow to begin “thinking outside the box”, and are just now seeking new and innovative ways to leverage the benefits of BI. For example
- Clinical data can be analyzed in great detail to uncover vital patterns and trends in diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes.
- Metrics can be defined and implemented to closely monitor patient satisfaction levels and quality of care.
- Information can be made readily accessible to authorized users via Intranets or the Internet, to enhance collaboration between all those involved in a patient’s treatment.
Some of the more leading-edge healthcare firms are even looking for ways to utilize predictive analytics to improve knowledge-building and forecasting. This, they believe, will help enhance everything from disease prevention and control, to administrative issues like budgeting, staffing, and inventory management.
But, perhaps most importantly, business intelligence can help healthcare organizations to more proactively manage their information, and track how it is being accessed and utilized. This will facilitate better compliance with various industry regulations and standards, such as HIPAA.