Improved Data Comprehension by Healthcare Institutions: Driving Transformative Change
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In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare organisations have turned to data and modern analytics to inform operational and clinical decisions, enhance patient care, and address the challenges posed by the virus. Two such organisations, Community Medical Centers (CMC) and Novant Health, have made significant strides in this area.
Community Medical Centers, serving 100,000 patients annually across 28 sites, including agricultural workers and low-income residents, found that their revenue came solely from face-to-face visits before the pandemic. However, the adoption of Tableau as their data analytics platform has been a key driver in CMC's financial recovery during these challenging times.
Prior to implementing Tableau, CMC faced a growing demand for operational metrics but lacked user-friendly tools to display data. The Tableau platform, chosen for its reputation, cost, and user interface, has relieved pressure on Javier Romo, the associate manager of business intelligence at CMC. Romo has organised the Tableau server into folders such as medical, billing, and human resources, making data easily accessible for clinicians during virtual exams.
The pandemic has validated and fueled data analytics initiatives for many organisations, including CMC. Romo, speaking on the topic, states that telehealth is here to stay.
Novant Health, with 800 locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, built its analytics infrastructure on the Microsoft Azure cloud. Before joining Novant Health as chief data officer in 2018, Karl Hightower found that many business leaders at the organisation were making decisions based on searching for answers or intuition rather than data-driven decisions. To address this, Hightower created operations, patient, and clinical groups to drive discussion at Novant Health.
Hightower likens enterprise analytics to dieting, stating that the challenge is sticking with it. He emphasises the importance of getting people to commit long-term to data analytics. Novant Health uses Azure Databricks for advanced data processing and Teams to facilitate analytic product groups.
The use of data and modern analytics has enabled both CMC and Novant Health to respond quickly to the challenges posed by the pandemic. For instance, Novant Health's core philosophy is "all data, all the time," which has supported rapid identification of disease trends and helped allocate resources efficiently during the pandemic.
In addition, CMC has leveraged Tableau to provide clinicians with holistic views of patient data and risk protocols during virtual exams, enhancing their ability to make informed decisions. Meanwhile, Novant Health has implemented digital dashboards to monitor patients, track outcomes, and guide early clinical interventions, which studies have shown to be associated with reductions in mortality, including for COVID-19 patients.
Moreover, both organisations have expanded their telemedicine offerings to improve equitable access and reduce mortality and adverse outcomes in remote communities during the pandemic. This approach has been crucial in overcoming geographic and technological barriers, especially in underserved areas.
Looking to the future, emerging technologies like societal digital twins are being used to simulate and predict disease spread, optimise resource use, and plan community-wide health services beyond immediate outbreak response. These tools aid in proactive disease forecasting, personalised care, and infrastructural optimisation crucial for managing pandemics and public health.
In conclusion, data integration and analytics have empowered healthcare organisations to enhance clinical decision-making, improve patient outcomes, and adapt care delivery models rapidly during COVID-19, particularly benefiting distinct and underserved populations by enabling tailored interventions, efficient resource management, and expanded access via digital health.
Data-and-cloud-computing technology and modern analytics have been pivotal in facilitating advanced decision-making and resource management within healthcare organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, Community Medical Centers (CMC) have employed the Tableau platform as their data analytics tool, providing clinicians with holistic views of patient data and risk protocols during virtual exams. Meanwhile, Novant Health, utilizing the Microsoft Azure cloud for their analytics infrastructure, has rapidly identified disease trends and efficiently allocated resources through their philosophy of "all data, all the time." These technological advancements have played a crucial role in improving health services, tailoring interventions, and expanding equitable access in underserved communities.
