Big data has changed how we collect, manage, analyze, and use data in many industries. In healthcare, data analytics has shown the potential to help prevent disease, reduce the cost of healthcare, predict pandemic outbreaks as well as improve patient outcomes and the quality of life. In this article, we are going to look at how data analytics is helping the healthcare industry and look at some examples of how it is doing so.
Improving Staffing
Hospital administrators must find a way to balance the number of staff so that their institutions do not lose money due to overstaffing, or have poor healthcare outcomes due to understaffing. This delicate balance can be achieved using data analytics.
Using historical data, hospitals can use data analytics to predict how many patients to expect in a given day or even in a given hour. This way, they can have the right number of people working at any given time.
Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics is a very important intelligence tool and its entrance into the healthcare industry benefits everyone. Health service companies are already using predictive analytics to streamline and enhance the delivery of healthcare. These companies use the data they collect to identify shortcomings in the healthcare system and then try to find solutions to these shortcomings to make the healthcare system better.
Data analytics in cancer has made it easier to carry out cancer research and predict those who are most at risk, thereby helping come up with better treatment plans which improve survival rates. When used this way, data and predictive analytics have been able to reduce risk, detect diseases earlier, and reduce mortality rates in diseases such as breast cancer.
Evaluating Performance
Healthcare systems around the world are moving from offering volume care to offering value-based and patient-centered care. Data analytics can be used to evaluate the effectiveness and performance of healthcare professionals to see if they are meeting the goals that are set out to achieve value-based and patient-centered care.
Using data gained from regular performance reviews as well as data on patient outcomes and wellness, data analytics can be used to provide feedback on different professionals. This feedback can then be used to improve the provision of healthcare services.
Improving Patient Engagement in Their Health
As the use of wearable health devices increases, users will have better, more accurate data to show healthcare providers. This data can range from fitness levels, sleep patterns, heart rates, nutrition, steps and so much more. By being able to monitor their health themselves, potential patients are motivated to lead better, healthier lives. All this data can be uploaded to the cloud where physicians can access and use it.
Data analytics has changed the healthcare industry in many ways and as it continues to be used, we will keep finding ways to leverage it for better patient care and health outcomes. In the meantime, we can use its capabilities to predict illnesses, reduce the cost of treatment, reduce the risk of contracting certain diseases, and reduce mortality rates.