HEALT H CARE A NA LY T I C S
Providers are adopting
information digitization
and healthcare analytics,
mostly in the form of
descriptive business
intelligence tools that
make fancy post-mortem
charts. Predictive analytics
is still far-fetched.
workers.” By 2020, the number is expected to
rise to 50 percent [3], and the number of people
covered under employer-sponsored health insurance will become a smaller percentage of the
overall population. More people will have to pay
for insurance on their own – from the exchange
marketplaces or otherwise. For many who will
not have to pay their total insurance bill, the cost
sharing will be higher or the coverage will be less
or even inadequate. Those that can afford it might
have to supplement their insurance with personal
policies.
WHERE IS THE ANALYTICS?
As part of the Affordable Care Act widely
known as Obamacare, the U.S. government is
trying to drive performance efficiencies and improved quality of care through providers and
in the delivery system using programs such as
value-based purchasing, readmission penalties
and meaningful use of electronic health record
systems. In response to these initiatives, providers are adopting information digitization and
healthcare analytics, mostly in the form of descriptive business intelligence tools that make
fancy post-mortem charts. Predictive analytics is
still far-fetched.
Health Leaders Media recently identified the
top three strategic drivers for providers in 2014,
which includes clinical decision support and clinical performance tracking. Both require heavy use
of analytics. Payers are taking on more risks to
increase their medical-loss-ratio using analytics
that can identify patient cohorts with higher risk
18
|
A N A LY T I C S - M A G A Z I N E . O R G
W W W. I N F O R M S . O R G