Success in the healthcare industry, perhaps more than in many other business sectors, depends on the effective use of information.
In fact, the collection, organisation, housing and subsequent sharing of this information has become mission-critical as healthcare organisations must ensure proper management of resources, including personnel, equipment, supplies and transportation, to name but a few.
Successful management, however, has become particularly difficult - especially with the continual pressure to reduce costs and maximise efficiency without sacrificing quality patient care - resulting in the industry turning towards technology as an answer to seemingly insurmountable problems.
While technology and systems are important platforms for operations, the key lies in the role of business intelligence (BI). BI allows healthcare organisations to tap into the many (often disparate) databases and find and formulate essential data, which is frequently buried deep within an administrative and operational labyrinth.
It is this information which is essential to untangling the complicated web that is the healthcare industry, and allow for better decision-making and improvement of operational efficiency for today and in the future.
Just think of the possibilities that the industry can achieve by reducing costs, reallocating resources and improving quality not only from a personnel perspective, but from a patient one as well.
By delivering analysis from multiple sources at once, healthcare organisations can track large amounts of information stemming from clinical activities and identify the most efficient practices. This centralised approach to information will reduce duplication, inaccuracies and time-consuming application processes - freeing up the time of healthcare professionals and administrative staff, not to mention easing the frustration of patients.
In addition, some of the possible BI applications relevant to this sector include:
While technology and systems are important platforms for operations, the key lies in the role of business intelligence.
Martin Rennhackkamp is COO of PBT.
* Compliance: Reporting capabilities stemming from the BI solution enables healthcare organisations to meet statutory reporting requirements and regulatory policies with minimal effort as required information can be pulled from an integrated source.
* Financial analysis: BI tools can assist healthcare organisations to compile reports and detailed analyses of costs and revenue as well as forecasted and actual margins - giving insight into trends, risks and cost structures.
* Quality and safety analysis: BI can provide performance analyses across patient satisfaction, resource utilisation and risk profiles to measure quality and safety precautions - allowing them to adjust accordingly and continually raise performance and satisfaction levels among suppliers, staff and patients.
* Operational performance: BI can assist with monitoring inventory supplies, eliminating waste and allocating insufficient, yet critical resources. Overall operational performance can be improved, as supply chain logistics can be measured and analysed and benchmarks set for improved standards.
* Internal concerns: BI can also be used as a useful internal human resource tool as staff turnover, retention, productivity and compensation can be analysed and decisions taken accordingly.
* Patient care analysis: With secure and centralised up-to-date essential clinical information, healthcare practitioners can diagnose and prescribe more quickly and accurately as patient information and medical history is readily available.
BI can certainly provide the industry with the integration and information 'pulling' the sector so desperately needs, as the best care cannot be provided by an industry operating as individual silos.
BI and the integration processes the solution provides will certainly be key to driving skills, performance and satisfaction, especially as the current health policy in South Africa is aimed at creating a strict separation between the public and private sectors and tight, centralised control over public hospitals.
While this has undoubtedly created many of the problems with competitiveness and quality that plague the public health service, the implementation of BI into the healthcare industry has and will continue to have far-reaching implications. It will become the platform upon which a flexible, capable and quality public and private health sector is built.
* Martin Rennhackkamp is COO of PBT.
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