Healthier patients and healthier businesses with business intelligence

Healthier patients, healthier businesses

Routine business decisions in other industries can mean life or death in healthcare. As healthcare faces significant changes driven by cost, access, an insurance industry constantly in flux, and a new focus on integrated health and collaboration across providers, the ability to access and understand data efficiently has become more important. Healthcare leaders are rethinking traditional analytics models and developing new processes, and business intelligence (BI) is shaping how they do it.

Many healthcare providers in the United States now have access to an explosion of data thanks in large part to the adoption and digitization of electronic medical records. The healthcare industry’s use of BI is currently focused on two imperatives: reducing overhead while increasing revenue, thereby bending the cost curve downward,  and continuously improving patient safety and outcomes. The ability to access and mine data in real-time is critical to achieving these goals.

Reducing costs and increasing revenue

A healthy business can translate into healthier patients. The wealth of data available to healthcare providers can be used to track performance metrics tied to increased quality of care at a lower cost. BI gives providers more insight into operations and the complex factors affecting cash flow. By analyzing data in real time, providers can adjust strategy to re-focus on their key objectives. BI can highlight prime areas to boost operational performance and ultimately increase revenue. Certain services may be underutilized but very profitable, and other services may not be priced correctly. Claims processes can also be analyzed through BI and fine-tuned to cut costs and boost efficiency. In addition, staff and care team efficiency are key to boosting revenue; BI can provide a look at current policies that are affecting operational performance both positively and negatively.

Improving patient outcomes

As technology improves across all areas of healthcare, BI is also serving as a foundation for evidence-based clinical decision-making, leading to better outcomes. It can also help provide better predictions and help target interventions to the right patients; Concentrix Catalyst, for example, partnered recently with Intel to develop a proof of concept that healthcare groups can use to create their own inpatient risk scoring system and avoid Rapid Response Team interventions.

BI can also enable providers to make healthcare a more personalized experience, one that engages patients in managing their own health. With detailed data about each patient at the ready, treatment can be assessed on a case-by-case basis. This also means providers can create a proactive model focused on prevention. Data on genetic markers, patient history and family background offer insight to providers that can be used to guide patients to a decreased risk of disease.

BI application in healthcare still faces challenges, however: Choosing and implementing the right tools can be time-consuming, and providers using traditional models may be resistant to change. However, the investment into systems and training can reap benefits, leading to better outcomes — longer, healthier lives for patients – at a lower cost.

At Concentrix Catalyst, we believe that any effective business intelligence initiative begins with data, and our approach focuses on establishing a trusted data platform as the core of any BI solution.

Learn more about Concentrix Catalyst’s work in the healthcare industry and our experience partnering with organizations around the world to drive better decision-making with BI.