News Feature | March 16, 2015

Report: Analytics In Healthcare "No Longer A Hypothetical Scenario"

By Megan Williams, contributing writer

Data Analytics In The Hospitality Industry

A report on analytics in healthcare from CDW Healthcare contains valuable information for services providers working in the area of analytics. The report addresses the shifting state of analytics in the industry — a state that is moving past a point of hypotheticals and projections and into a time where questions around application and benefit must be answered.

The Survey

CDW, in conjunction with O’Keefe And Company, worked with 150 healthcare decision-makers to gain insight into their thoughts around healthcare analytics. The majority of respondents came from the IT director/manager level, with 15 percent coming from the CTO level, mostly representing organizations of more than 1,000 beds.

The Importance Of Analytics

Moving beyond a time of EHR (electronic health records) implementation, interest in analytics is growing. More than two-thirds of decision-makers rank analytics among their top three priorities. This move is motivated by the rising cost of care, MU programs, and the growth of accountable care initiatives, and smaller organizations are having a difficult time keeping up on the analytics front.

Organizations that are focusing on analytics have emphasized initiatives like improving data capture, storage, and processing, with many planning on continuing investments in that area into this year. Those investments are working out for them; a full 82 percent have reported improved patient care, and 54 percent stressed improved financial reporting capabilities. The majority of organizations intend to increase spending on analytics this year.

The report states, “This is no longer a hypothetical scenario. The majority of healthcare organizations (67 percent) are planning for or implementing analytics, though adoption levels vary by organization size.”

For IT Solutions Providers

CDW provides a chart that will be helpful to managed services providers (MSPs) looking to judge their potential fit in the analytics market.

The chart breaks down the state of analytics use by organizational size (page 7). Small organizations are in the planning and discovery stages, while midsize and large organizations are moving into implementation stages.

The chart is followed by a list of benefits that analytics can bring your clients, broken down by the areas of:

  • life sciences: evidence of drug safety and improved manufacturing
  • public health: sharing data and managing costs and resources
  • healthcare providers: measuring performance and improving outcomes
  • health insurance: driving decisions and preventing fraud

Complications

Of course, any implementation of analytics will be met with challenges. The report details some of the most pressing (page 11), including disparate data, managing large volumes of data, interoperability, and lack of funding.

Go Deeper

Read more about what CIOs think of the importance of analytics and value-based care here.