Data Analytics is entering the world of healthcare in a big way. From helping physicians make well-informed decisions to improving patient engagement to enhancing the quality of after-procedure care, data analytics is helping providers up their game significantly.
An astounding quantity of data is generated by hospitals and practices annually. This information often pertains to not just patient care but also to aspects like patient-demographics, claims, payments, etc. Each spoke in the wheel representing a healthcare practice contributes to an ever-expanding data pool. In the past, such information was locked away in filing drawers and was all but inaccessible. It was of little use to anybody.
On the contrary, in today’s digital world, the healthcare sector has fortunately moved to more advanced systems of data storage. Data is accessible more efficiently than ever before. But, there is more to it than just that. This overwhelming volume of diverse data can help us understand and solve more significant issues that plague the medical world today. We can learn from patterns exhibited by the data and draw conclusions that can help plug the gaps thus leading to airtight processes.
Here are a few ways in which data analytics programs can help your practice:
1. Ability to build predictive models to improve patient care and outreach – With the large volume of data stored in individual practices and big hospitals, it is possible to create predictive models to zero in on issues that could balloon-up in the future or foresee patients who could fall in sensitive categories in the future. Data Analytics programs will help providers build strategies that are almost infallible in the long run as they would have taken into account all possibilities pointed out by predictive models.
2. Improve health outcomes – Evidence-based care that is driven by data analytics is the way to go today. With the ability to churn large data sets, it is possible to draw greatly from all the rich experience that is available in the form of clinical trials, case histories, research papers, etc. All this focus on learning from past experiences will result in better health outcomes
Read more: 5 Hurdles Faced by Data Analytics Programs in Healthcare
3. Improve the quality of after-procedure care – By studying the reasons for readmission of patients after a particular procedure and finding ways to tackle those reasons, a provider can reduce the number of patients coming back with complications after a procedure. Here too data analytics can assist in a big way by studying large quantities of similar data to give fact-based recommendations.
4. Improving patient engagement – Case Managers can use data analytics in a big way to help their patients achieve health goals. By studying the latest trends that are doing the rounds in the healthcare fraternity, they can devise new ways to keep their patients engaged and committed to preventative care. Intelligent predictions will eventually help in reducing overall healthcare costs owing to chronic illnesses.
Despite all of the above benefits that data analytics offer, it is essential to be careful while installing an analytics framework especially since the medical data that is being used is highly confidential. It would be prudent to keep in mind that while all this data can be instrumental in improving the quality of care imparted, it also needs a high level of security. A patient’s sensitive data has to be protected from unauthorized eyes at all times. With data analytics, data security protocols and processes have to go hand-in-hand.
If you want to be able to use your data to gain insights and make well-informed decisions, the Care Management service provided by Mirra Healthcare (TPA) is the right choice for you. Mirra employs world-class professionals who are experts in data analysis, especially in the healthcare industry. In addition to this, Mirra takes care that all of your data is being worked on in a protected environment so you can be assured that it is not being misused. Let Mirra’s Medicare in a Box solution help you take your level of patient care up several notches by using all of that data that you have acquired over the years.