by In a field where millions of pieces of priceless patient data are constantly moving from one end of the system to the other, the value of data is immeasurable. Big Data technologies’ entry into the market makes it possible to transform this data into knowledge that can subsequently be applied to provide improved healthcare services to end consumers. The wave of digitization gradually changed how hospitals and other healthcare systems managed and accessed medical records in order to provide patients with improved care services.
Contrary to other businesses, the healthcare sector has been far slower to adopt new technologies like Big Data, yet its effects have already been felt within a short period of time. Companies who have successfully used Big Data to supply cheap healthcare services to the expanding population have seen improvements in their performance.
How data intelligence is enhancing the efficiency of the healthcare sector
According to Grand View Research, the global market for data analytics in healthcare was estimated to be worth $26 billion in 2019 and is anticipated to rise at a 7.5% CAGR from 2020 to 2027.
The delivery of healthcare services will change as a result of data analytics in fields as diverse as cancer therapy, medication research, and disease prediction. Nearly every aspect of healthcare will be impacted by the use of advanced analytics techniques and the ongoing geometric growth in the amount of data that can be analysed, including the accuracy of insurance rates, the automation of administrative procedures, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in diagnostics.
Pointing Out High-Risk Patients
In the world of medicine, predictive analytics is all about leveraging current data to provide medical forecasts that assist hospitals in avoiding reimbursement and financial penalties and improving patient care. The use of predictive analytics in the healthcare industry can help to improve patient care overall, supply chain efficiency, hospital administrative operations, and the management of chronic diseases.
In the case of emergency patients, readmissions to the hospital are relatively common, which ultimately results in inefficiency in the provision of treatment and an increase in the cost borne by the service provider. If hospitals can identify high-risk patients beforehand and treat them with individualised and patient-centric care, the problem can be brought under control. Predictive analytics can reduce the frequency of repeat visits to the emergency room by using real-time patient data to draw inferences that are clinically pertinent and aid in future decision-making.
Help Prevent Security Threats
The healthcare sector is extremely vulnerable to security breaches because it handles an increasing amount of patient data, including their personal and medical information. A little technical inefficiency or ignorance makes it simpler for technically competent and sound attackers to access the hospital database and steal important patient data.
The healthcare industry’s security worries can be addressed by big data. However, healthcare organisations frequently fail to recognise their actual potential and wind up being compromised by weaknesses for which they have no fix. Big Data’s preventive advantages are underrated because not many people are aware of its developments and applications. Healthcare firms should prepare themselves to avoid future chances of being attacked by any security threat of the same kind by using Big Data analytics to investigate the fraud activities of the past and present.
Offering Better Customer Engagement Opportunities
The implementation of big data technology has aided the healthcare sector not only in the secure management and storage of patient data, but also in the conversion of data into insights that enable healthcare businesses to comprehend the needs of their clients and cater to them accordingly. Companies developed the idea of wearable electronics like health watches, mHealth apps, and web-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) devices as a step toward providing better treatment. These products let people take control of their health without constantly seeing the doctor.
With the help of medical aid gadgets, people may now keep track of their heart rate, sleep duration, calories burned, number of steps taken, and other data. All the information gathered through these consumer engagement tools is then put into the cloud, where it can be easily accessed by doctors from all over the world for use as a resource when necessary and to create individual treatment plans for each patient.
Bringing an End to Medication Errors
We frequently see reports about patients who were given the incorrect prescription, which in the worst circumstances may have even resulted in the patient’s premature death. The healthcare sector has not fully embraced technology in its operations and still mainly relies on manual record-keeping procedures and other administrative tasks, which is the main source of such mishaps.
Research will reveal that the majority of the hospital database has turned into a repository of inaccurate or partial information because of improper upkeep. Unpreventable human errors can only be avoided by utilising big data, which can assist in keeping a structured record of a patient’s prescription history for use in the present and the future. Medication can be made error-free by the systematic gathering, archival, and analysis of enormous volumes of medical data sets.
Lower Hospital Cost
The use of predictive analytics in the healthcare market can help firms, like in other sectors, anticipate future developments and trends and take appropriate action using well-thought-out plans and strategies. Big Data presents healthcare organisations with a fantastic chance to cut costs and the time it takes to provide top-notch patient care.
Final Thoughts
The use of data analytics in healthcare has already had a significant impact on healthcare professionals’ capacity to provide patients with high-quality care in an effective and efficient manner. However, as more types of data become accessible and new tools are created that make the analytics results understandable and simple for healthcare workers to access, the role of data analytics in enhancing patient outcomes and healthcare systems continues to increase and expand.
Understanding how technology can be applied to address challenges faced by healthcare providers, such as staff recruitment and utilisation, operational efficiencies, and improved patient experiences, is the first step in realising the potential of data analytics to transform the healthcare industry. Knowing what patients want and need is essential for providing patient-centered care. Analytics of data contains the key.
Ashwani Rawat, Co-Founder & Director at Transerve Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
(DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETHealthworld does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETHealthworld.com shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person / organisation directly or indirectly.)