Article | April 26, 2022

The Increased Importance of Data and Analytics

In general, data analytics has been an ever growing and expanding part of the information technology divisions across businesses everywhere.  As a result of COVID-19, these efforts have been catapulted forward and our leaders are being forced to recognize the importance and power of data.

It’s not that our leaders were ignoring the power of data, however, the pandemic has revealed the truly meaningful benefits of investing in the resources and the infrastructure that is required for a strong data analytics team.  We have leveraged data analytics in the healthcare world in the following ways:

Patient Engagement

The modern model of patient engagement consists of utilizing a patient portal for scheduling visits, messaging the doctor, prescription refills and virtual visits.  One aspect of technology that has notably improved in recent months is the amount of real-time data being passed between the patient and doctor through the patient portal.  Because at times, in-person results and updates were  not possible, the importance of utilizing and engaging with the patient portal were critical for patient care.

Corporate Agility

Last year, some healthcare providers learnt lessons the hard way when COVID hit the nation. Pivoting quickly by learning and implementing  strategies from other the organizations was essential in providing patient care.  From a workforce perspective,  internally transitioning into more collaborative tools like Microsoft Teams and video conferencing solutions provided the platform for sharing information for decision-making.

Leverage Technology

As the organization’s employee needs change in collaboration with the ever-changing needs of the patient, we have always been faced with addressing these challenges by using the technology we have around us. The fundamental directives moving forward should be to understand how we can leverage technology further and reshuffle priorities well into 2022. Knowing and harnessing the power and understanding the technology we implement allows us to answer question:  “Can we do this?” with a Yes answer.  The  answer of “Let me go check.” should no longer applies in the environment of today. e

Dynamic Strategies

Are your leaders making decision on whims and their gut feelings? What if you knew the facts before making those assumptions?  Things change and so should our business strategies. Strategies should align with the organizations plans but also be open enough to adjust and consolidate those decisions and commitments in a way that is flexible and dynamic.

It’s as important as ever to make sure your business is optimized and structured according to your improved decision-making processes.  Make sure the structures are clear and streamlined in an effort to expedite the process and resolve issues that need to be addressed.