The goal of healthcare is to help people with ailments get better. But this is a massive undertaking when there’s so much uncertainty involved in how to best treat patients. Fortunately, technological advancements—particularly in the realm of healthcare analytics—are leading to better patient outcomes.
Wearables Are Finding Otherwise Invisible Patterns
Wearable devices such as the Apple watch are starting889 to receive widespread adoption among consumers. While there are many practical uses for wearable technology, healthcare applications are thus far some of the most beneficial. There a few ways that data collected from wearables is helping people from a health standpoint. The most obvious of these benefits is probably tracking individual vital stats. People with underlying conditions, or at-risk of developing issues, can keep a constant watch on their health.
Another way wearables are driving better patient outcomes is through cumulative data. All the information collected over time from all people with wearables will show patterns that otherwise would be completely undetectable.
Better Value-Based Care
The past few years have shown an increasing point of conflict between volume- versus value-based approaches in the healthcare world. Before the proliferation of data analytics, patients just had to accept their care, and hope the quality was up to par. Now, greater levels of practitioner evaluations is bringing about a total revolution in how care is approached regarding the quality-quantity dichotomy.
Predictive Analytics Can Reduce Readmissions
Predictive analytics is one of the top areas where healthcare is seeing major progress from a data usage standpoint. Healthcare analytics does exactly what the name suggests; it helps give a more accurate picture 530of what’s going to happen based on current and past events.
There are nearly limitless applications for predictive analytics in the healthcare realm. One prime example is how analytics can reduce 30-day readmission rates. It’s harmful to patients, both physically and mentally, when they have to go back to the hospital. It’s also a bad thing for hospitals, as they have to pay financial penalties for not meeting readmission incentives. Using data analytics, healthcare professionals can do a better job of predicting the likelihood of someone having to be readmitted to the hospital.
Lowering Costs
Everyone can agree that lowering costs for patients is a benefit to them. This is especially true since medical bills are a major burden for so many people. In fact, medical debt is commonly cited as the top reason for people having to file personal bankruptcy. At its core, data analytics is a way for organizations to boost operational efficiency. This will then lower expenses, which translates to lower costs for consumers.
Greater Data Collaboration Between Healthcare Professionals
Shared knowledge is a major driver for progress in the medical world. Since the inception of healthcare practice, experts in various fields have collaborated in order to provide better care for their patients. Data analytics is bringing this to a whole new level. Massive data silos can produce unprecedented insights into issues prevalent to the healthcare world. By sharing this information, researchers are exponentially increasing the rate at which they can uncover deep insights.
Freeing Up Doctors’ Time
When you think of how a doctor spends their da889y, you probably imagine them going between various appointments with their patients. You probably don’t envision them sitting in an office filling out forms. But the reality is that doctors are currently spending egregious amounts of time doing this latter activity—sometimes up to two-thirds of their days. Healthcare analytics can aid in automating a lot of these processes that otherwise need to be completed by hand.
Additionally, nurse managers can benefit from the advantages provided by scheduling tools. AI-empowered analytics tools make it possible to schedule more efficient shifts. These applications can free up healthcare professionals’ time, so they can spend it helping patients instead of doing administrative tasks.
Conclusion
There are many ways data analytics is going to change the face of healthcare forever. As data is continually integrated into healthcare services, patients will see improved outcomes.
