Desperate Need For Analytics
The healthcare industry, both the notfor-profit and profit worlds, was traditionally
not data- and analytics-driven. However,
as the Medicaid patient population increases by leaps and bounds and community healthcare organizations cannot hire
enough physicians to expand capacity, a
precarious situation looms. Demonstrating quality in care delivery is now critical
for community-based healthcare organizations to ensure sustained federal funding,
but to do so within the constraints of available resources it is imperative that they
utilize analytics to move toward population
health management, efficient management
of the high cost multi-chronic patients and
in general take necessary steps toward
improved staff productivity. In absence of
coherent data and adequate analytics systems, this is turning out to be a monumental task for many organizations.
The reactive nature of the healthcare
industry is partly to blame for making a difficult situation worse. Everyone knew that
this wave was coming, yet not enough was
done to prepare. On the positive side, this
has opened up new business opportunities
for healthcare analytics companies who
may consider turning their attention to notfor-profit segment of the U.S. healthcare industry, a segment that by 2019 is expected
to address the healthcare needs of more
than 50 million people [2].
a na l y t i c s
The non-profit healthcare segment
also is in immediate need for analytics
that can make sense of clinical, operational and financial data to provide descriptive, post-mortem analysis of the current
situation and eventually guide the segment to maneuver the rough waters of the
post-ACA world. This is a new healthcare
environment that is comprised of an unprecedented number of patients who are
waiting to be taken care of by a decreasing number of physicians, combined with
funding sources that are under increased
governmental scrutiny today and may not
be available in the future.
Rajib Ghosh ([email protected]) is an
independent consultant and business advisor
with 20 years of technology experience in various
indust ry verticals where he had senior level
management roles in software engineering,
program management, product management
and business and strategy development. Ghosh
spent a decade in the U.S. healthcare industry
as part of a global ecosystem of medical device
manufacturers, medical software companies and
telehealth and telemedicine solution providers.
He’s held senior positions at Hill-Rom, Solta
Medical and Bosch Healthcare. His recent work
interest includes public health and the field of
IT-enabled sustainable healthcare delivery in the
United States as well as emerging nations.
Follow Ghosh on twitter @ghosh_r.
Notes & REFERENCES
1. “Google’s New Moonshot Project: the Human
Body.”
2. Anette L.Gardner, “Maintaining Clinic Financial
Stability: Navigating Change, Leveraging
Opportunities.”
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