10 Things Data-Driven Healthcare Organizations Do Differently

Healthcare is one of the most important sectors of the economy. This industry is going through unprecedented change due to several factors. With rising costs, an aging population, and an increase in chronic illnesses, the need of the hour is to find out strategic ways what Data-Driven Healthcare Organizations do differently to improve the efficiency and efficacy of healthcare.

The answer is data analytics. Data drives the strategies that are mapped out in any industry and the use of big data can revolutionize the healthcare industry.

How are data-driven healthcare organizations transforming healthcare to improve the performance when compared to an average performer? Here are the ten things data-driven healthcare organizations do differently:

1. Clear vision and enterprise alignment – These organizations have a well-communicated vision that creates a sense of urgency, unity, and loyalty. There is unrelenting support from the board. The executive team is “all in” – they set the tone, direction, and constantly communicate the ‘why?’ to the associates.
2. Analytics as one of their core strategies – As healthcare is transitioning from volume to value, they understand the role data will play within the organization to support various initiatives. Quite often, the resources are limited in healthcare and they need to be strategically deployed on the right projects and data helps to guide these decisions. These organizations have mature technologies, highly skilled people, and reliable processes to enable a culture of analytics and transparency within the organization.
3. Data quality and governance – These organizations understand the need and importance of data quality and they have robust processes around data quality to help their organizations create a defined, approved, and integrated plan to achieve improved data quality that meets business needs. To foster collaborative decision making among various stakeholders, strong data governance structures are often seen in these organizations as well.
4. Relentless focus on creating value for the patients – Through data, these organizations understand what is valued by the patients and focus development on creating continuous value.  They constantly analyze and react to patient’s feedback faster. They predict what the patients might be looking for in the future and plan the initiatives accordingly.
5. Operationalize Data – These organizations usually have a strong foundation of performance improvement science embedded within their culture. They use these methodologies backed by data to solve complex problems and improve outcomes. Analytics is usually referred as the backbone for performance improvement.
6. Engaged staff and clinicians – The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at the organization, department, committee, and project level are shared with the frontline staff and the providers on a regular basis. The staff and the clinicians understand what metrics matter to the patients and how their day-day work impact these metrics and outcomes.
7. One Stop Shop – Healthcare organizations have data coming in from several different sources. Data-driven organizations understand the need to integrate these various data sources and share a comprehensive story to paint a complete picture. They don’t silo data.
8. Care is more integrated and connected – Telehealth is changing how the patients communicate with the healthcare teams. These organizations understand the potential of telehealth and create business models to meet the patient’s demand for affordable and accessible care. They also study data coming from these technologies to optimize the deployment of these resources.
9. Celebrate success – Healthcare, in general, does not do a great job in celebrating success. These organizations understand the importance of this and structure celebration by recognizing teams and results.
10. Invest in emerging technologies – Technologies like the Internet of Things, Machine Learning, Chatbots, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, etc. are emerging in healthcare. These organizations spend time learning, planning, and testing these technologies in their organizations to solve problems, improve outcomes, and gain efficiencies.