How Data Helps Healthcare Leaders Make Better Choices

Data analytics is fast becoming an indispensable tool in healthcare administration. By analyzing a mountain of data, healthcare administrators may gain the needed insight to make better decisions about the effective administration of patient care and reduce costs by enhancing organizational operations. 

What is it, and how does data analytics apply to healthcare? Let’s examine how data analytics changes how healthcare administrators perform their functions and the benefits of such applications.

What is Healthcare Data Analytics?

Analytics in healthcare involves data collection, processing, and analysis to arrive at a meaningful conclusion. Traditional data sources include patient records, information about patients, and billing data. While several new sources have evolved recently, some analytics may include information from wearable health monitors. Analytics enable healthcare administrators to identify trends, predict outcomes, and make informed decisions that lead to quality patient care and operational efficiency.

How is Data Analytics used in Healthcare Administration?

Improving Patient Care

One of the significant issues in healthcare administration is patient care. Data analytics help with this by providing insight into patient outcomes. Analyzing patient records can help a healthcare administrator identify trends in patient health, such as complications after surgery or chronic diseases. This information can also be used to design superior treatment plans and enhance patient care.

Reducing Costs

Healthcare is expensive, and one of the challenges for administrators is to find ways to reduce costs without sacrificing patient care. Data analytics can help pinpoint system inefficiencies. For example, data analysis on hospital readmission enables administrators to determine specific reasons why patients return to the hospital and take necessary actions to prevent such conditions from happening or reoccurring. This helps improve patient outcomes and reduce the costs that result from readmission.

A report by McKinsey & Company estimated that using data analytics to reduce inefficiencies in healthcare could save the industry up to $300 billion annually. Consequently, data analytics will be an essential tool for administrators who seek to make healthcare more affordable.

Improvement in Operational Efficiency

Operating any healthcare facility consists of multiple moving parts: staffing, inventory, etc. Analytics helps administrators optimize those operations with insight into resource use. For instance, analytics could show how many staff and patients there were at any given time so that administrators can ensure they have the right staff during busy times, decrease wait times, and improve patient satisfaction.

Moreover, data analytics can follow the volume of an inventory and predict when supplies will reach a low point so that new supplies can be ordered, hence avoiding any shortages. This form of operational efficiency is critical to managing a healthcare facility.

Predicting Future Trends

A vital facet of data analytics is its predictive nature regarding future trends. The healthcare administration can make specific predictions regarding future needs by studying record trends, such as patient intake or outbreaks. This enables them to prepare in advance and allocate resources much better.

Similarly, health organizations worldwide utilized data analytics during the COVID-19 pandemic to predict surges in patient numbers and worked towards preparedness through staffing and equipment levels to accommodate that inflow. This is where predictive power comes in handy for healthcare administrators.

Conclusion

Data analytics converts healthcare management insights into better decision-making. From improving patient care to reducing costs and operational efficiency, data analytics helps health administrators in various ways throughout the vast system. With improved technology, the role of data analytics in healthcare only increases. 
Northwest Career College can get you started if your goal is working in healthcare administration and learning to enhance decision-making through analytics. With our premier healthcare administration program, you’ll be well-trained to jump into this fast-paced career. Enroll now today!