Advanced analytics is a data analysis methodology that uses predictive modeling, machine learning, statistical methods, data mining, and process automation techniques beyond the capabilities of traditional business intelligence (BI) to discover deeper insights, predict future outcomes, and generate recommendations. Healthcare analytics uses current and historical data to gain insights to support decision-making at a patient and business level.
The use of advanced analytics in the healthcare industry allows hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare groups to identify at-risk patients and improve patient care, to faster and more accurately diagnose patients and personalize their treatments, simplify internal operations and lower costs, and so much more.
There are many benefits that advanced analytics, real-time reporting, and interactive data visualizations bring to the healthcare industry. These analytical tools and techniques are revolutionizing the future of healthcare by helping the industry as it shifts to a data-driven first approach.
Advanced Analytics
In the healthcare industry, advanced analytics unlock new opportunities to transform how healthcare is delivered and consumed. For example, predictive analytics in healthcare is the analysis of current and historical healthcare data that allows healthcare professionals to find opportunities to make more effective and more efficient operational and clinical decisions, predict trends, and even manage the spread of disease.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is used to create algorithms based on data collected from previous patients, and as a result, create a prediction model based on that data. This technique is then deployed to help new patients obtain a diagnosis. Machine learning algorithms are also used to diagnose disease, determine the best treatment for each patient’s unique case, and much more.
Here are some key areas in which advanced analytics is used in the healthcare industry:
- Quicker and more accurate diagnosis of medical conditions
- Clinical decision support
- Clinical research
- Discovery of new drugs
- Development of new treatments
- Prediction of diseases and outbreaks
- Prevention of diseases and outbreaks
- Automation of hospital administrative processes
- Forecast equipment maintenance needs
- Chronic disease management
By using analytics at the point of care, doctors, medical staff and healthcare organizations can provide the right healthcare to patients at the right time, which in some cases might be lifesaving.
Real-Time Reporting
Real-time reporting in the healthcare industry can cover various aspects of the hospital/healthcare organization, ranging from patient care and care teams’ coordination to internal operations, resources utilization, finances, etc. With embedded reporting capabilities in hospital software, medical staff and administration can easily consolidate data from multiple large data sets and data sources and get a 360-degree view of the information they need, regardless of whether that is information about a patient, MRI machine or hospital medication and supplies needs.
The reports come in the form of graphs and charts, tables, and other visual elements to simplify the understanding of the data that is being presented.
Interactive Data Visualizations
Data visualization – the process of analyzing large amounts of complex data and communicating the results in a visual context is a commonly used tool in the healthcare space. Data visualization brings the most important takeaways in the healthcare industry into focus, helping medical staff interpret data results faster, recognize trends, and make better decisions.
Today, hospitals have already realized the power of data and are looking to leverage data visualization tools in order to maximize their efficiency and provide better patient care. By using data visualization tools, hospitals and medical staff can better understand its operating effectiveness and patient satisfaction, as well as track patient health status and progression.
By using interactive data visualizations, healthcare organizations and professionals can convert complex, raw data into user-friendly visuals that are easy to understand by all – doctors, patients and their relatives, stakeholders, insurance companies, etc.
These are the primary data visualizations used in healthcare:
Interactive dashboards – dashboards are the most common data visualization tool used by the healthcare industry. They enable healthcare professionals to access important patient statistics in real-time to increase the overall hospital performance and patient satisfaction. Dashboards also provide the functionality of interactive reports, displaying real-time data and trends over time.
Infographics – represent complex data in a visual format that can be easily understood by the public. Often infographics are used to provide critical information related to diseases, including references for prevention methods. For example, an infographic related to diabetes can feature and highlight information about recent statistics, symptoms, as well as science-backed recommendations on how to prevent the disease.
Motion graphics – this data visualization tool represents an animated infographic that is used primarily in educational videos and tutorials to provide higher engagement levels. Typically, the motion graph will include some fundamental information on the topic (how often a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, what is the percentage of women surviving, etc.) organized to create a narrative. It is a very powerful health data visualization tool and prime example of how the healthcare industry can break down complex data so that it can be easily understood by the average person.
Interactive websites or widgets – these health data visualization tools allow users to choose how they interact with the data and focus on what’s most relevant. For example, many health-related organizations and institutions create interactive websites to spread awareness on a given health issue or disease outbreak, etc. Good examples here are all the websites that have been created to keep people updated on Covid-19 cases in their local area, country, and even worldwide.
Conclusion
Applying advanced analytics has a significant impact on the ability of healthcare organizations, hospitals, and medical professionals to deliver better patient care efficiently and cost-effectively. By using the abundance of healthcare data to positively impact patients and industry alike, we can create a strong foundation for better health care in the future.
The future of healthcare analytics will include even larger amounts of data to manage and analyze, therefore, it will be even more important to understand how best to navigate and scale your data in order to keep improving patient outcomes.
About Jason Beres
Innovation expert Jason Beres is SVP of Developer Tools at Infragistics. Jason has written tech articles for various pubs, speaks at national conferences, and has authored/co-authored 10 books on software/development. His expertise in development further extends to ensure data and analytics are displayed in innovative and customer-driven MO for Windows Forms, ASP.NET, Silverlight, WPF and Java products. Jason is an expert on technology issues such as the software testing process, data-driven teams, customer input in product design, open source, and changes in data analytics and business intelligence over the past 30 years.
