Digitization of patient records can reduce complexities in providing quality healthcare. Managed analytical service providers play a vital role in assisting hospitals in accessing real-time actionable insights. Here, we’ll discuss how managed analytics can improve patient outcomes.
The healthcare industry has been actively adopting the data-driven model in the last few years. The Covid-19 pandemic forced many hospitals and healthcare centers to upgrade their systems and technology. This led to an increasing demand for managed analytics services in the industry. Hospitals are partnering with data analytical companies to deploy and customize analytical models and make effective decisions using real-time insights.
According to Mordor Intelligence, the global healthcare analytics market is expected to be $37.83 billion in 2023 and is estimated to reach $106.16 billion in 2028 at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 22.92%. The report also says that the predictive analytics segment will show the most growth during the forecast period.
Another report by Global Market Insights shows that financial management, clinical management, and population health management are the three major application areas in the healthcare analytics market.
In this brief guide, we’ll read more about data analytics managed services in healthcare and the need for them in today’s world.
Managed analytical services are third-party (near-shore, on-shore, and offshore) solutions provided by data analytical and artificial intelligence companies to help hospitals streamline their workflow, enhance patient care, and improve overall efficiency. It combines different activities or services, such as data warehousing, data analytics, business intelligence, data visualization, big data analytics, data governance, and long-term maintenance.
Simply put, the third-party managed analytics companies will deploy a data-driven model in the healthcare center and create custom dashboards to share real-time reports with the staff and doctors. The companies can also provide data maintenance and embedded analytics services where the IT infrastructure is hosted and managed by the service provider. The reports are shared with the hospitals.
Healthcare analytics is the use of data and statistical analytical techniques and tools to convert raw data into meaningful insights for better decision-making. This data predominantly belongs to the healthcare industry to provide the necessary inputs for hospitals and doctors. Healthcare analytics is a powerful service to unlock the full potential of patient data, discover hidden trends and patterns, identify correlations, and promote patient care.
Healthcare Analytics as a Service (HAaaS) has become prominent,+ with more hospitals opting for cloud-based third-party analytical solutions for clinical management. The entire process can be divided into the following:
Data intelligence management is a continuous process where new data is constantly added to the database, cleaned, formatted, and analyzed to get actionable insights. It allows healthcare centers to provide premium services to their patients while reducing pressure on doctors. Data mining, building predictive models, and automating reports are some common services in healthcare managed analytics.
The term healthcare analytics includes a wide range of processes and solutions, which are broadly categorized into the below three:
Clinical analytics focuses on patient care. It uses the data from electronic health records (EHR) to predict patients’ future health issues based on their medical condition. For example, hospitals can keep track of patients with critical conditions (heart attacks, cancers, organ dysfunctions, etc.) to know in advance if their situations might take a turn for worse. This allows doctors to provide timely treatment and save the patients’ lives.
Financial analytics deals with the financial impact of treatments on patients. Factors like the cost of the surgery, insurance coverage, cost of medication, etc., are calculated per patient to help them manage their treatments without worrying about the budget. For example, the cost of treatment for a patient with Medicare eligibility will be different from the cost incurred by a patient without such provision. Knowing the overall cost of the treatment will help the patient plan their funds accordingly.
Outcomes research deals with the possible outcomes in the healthcare industry. These include mortality rates, hospital stay duration, re-admission rates, and so on. This data strategy helps the hospital management improve their treatment protocols to become patient-friendly. For example, the hospital beds, ICU rooms, patient monitoring, etc., can be better managed to ensure patients don’t suffer due to the lack of resources.
Healthcare data analytics consulting companies set up an automated analytics lifecycle to provide relevant reports to the concerned people at all times. It reduces the risk of mismanagement and miscommunication.
Data analytics is not limited to analyzing datasets. It also deals with the overall data framework and how the models are used to extract insights from large volumes of data. In the healthcare industry, real-time analytics insights delivery to decision-makers can promote transparency, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness without compromising quality and patient care.
Managed predictive modeling is the process of analyzing historical and present datasets to determine future trends and outcomes. For example, analyzing the behavioral data of patients can help find a way to manage their visit timings, medication, etc. The past and present data of cancer patients can be used to find out if they are at risk of the cancer cells aggravating or relocating in the body to cause more serious trouble. Patients who have previously been admitted for self-harm can be monitored to make sure the risk of repeating the incident is less.
There are different applications of analytics managed services for health systems. Data analytics are used in the following areas to streamline the hospital’s operational efficiency while saving time and resources.
Data science managed services are crucial to helping healthcare centers make strategic decisions about treatment facilities, patient records, admission protocols, etc. It helps in tracking the availability of resources, the number of patients waiting, the list of available doctors, potential emergency cases, and so on. The hospital can be ever-ready to handle crises, thus increasing patients’ trust and satisfaction.
One of the biggest concerns in the healthcare industry is the lack of staff. Nurses work long shifts and are exhausted by the end of it. Hiring more staff can increase labor costs, while hiring less staff can reduce efficiency and increase risks. Data analytics can be used to streamline this issue and find a way to manage the hospital staff effectively. The working hours, staff rotations, part-time hires, interns, volunteers, etc., are managed based on the reports provided by the analytical system.
Fraud detection is another reason to hire data analytics consulting in healthcare. Insurance claims see a lot of fraudulent activities. The hospital staff spends many hours processing the claims and interacting with the insurance companies and patients. Using data analytics can reduce the risk of fraudulent claims by alerting the hospital staff about a potential risk before it occurs. This is done by identifying the changes in network patterns, detecting vulnerabilities and loopholes in the process, etc.
Medical logistics involves hospitals, pharma companies, equipment suppliers, surgical essentials, etc., necessary for doctors and nurses to treat patients. Delayed deliveries can lead to loss of life in many cases. For example, a patient suffering from severe injuries and blood loss needs immediate transfusion. However, if there’s a delay in finding the blood supply, it could lead to the patient’s death. Data analytical reports provide real-time information about the inventory in the hospital and alert the staff when it’s time to replenish the supplies.
The biggest application of managed analytics solutions in healthcare is to streamline EHRs and organize them effectively. These digital records should be available anytime the doctor wants to study the patient’s condition. Data such as the patient’s age, gender, lab test results, medication, concerns, allergies, etc., will provide the much-required information for the doctor to correctly diagnose the issue and provide the right treatment plan. The doctor can avoid prescribing medication that causes allergies in the patient and prevent unwanted risks. It also helps the hospital staff to contact patients for their annual checkups.
Healthcare managed analytics is a must for hospitals to improve their efficiency and provide better patient care. The industry should take advantage of the power of data to make informed and faster decisions. From detecting fraud to patient management and cost reduction, managed analytics service providers can help the healthcare industry in many ways.
The consulting companies also increase the scalability and agility of the systems to make it easier for hospitals to adopt the latest technologies and transform their services. Deliver better care and enhance patient well-being with healthcare managed analytical services.
Fact checked by –
Akansha Rani ~ Content Creator & Copy Writer
Sunaina Meena ~ Digital Marketing Specialist
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