Healthcare agencies aren’t gun shy when it comes to funding predictive analytics. According to a recent Fierce Health IT article, more than $1.9 billion has been invested as companies look for ways to reduce the cost of overtreatments and improve patient outcomes. But the reach of Big Data extends far beyond hospital walls — what can other industries learn from healthcare?
Keeping Costs Down
That’s the mandate of many healthcare analytics solutions, and with the industry on the hook for $192 billion in overspending and $35 billion in lack of care coordination, it’s no surprise. The same problems can be found outside of healthcare; money spent on poorly-received ad campaigns or providing damage control when social media sentiment is off the mark. In response, a number of enterprise-grade analytics solutions have emerged to tackle this challenge by providing event-driven platforms which integrate disparate systems, correlate real-time events, and manage multi-factor events over time to produce actionable results. But that’s just the beginning.
Driving Value Up
As noted by a new McKinsey and Company report, American healthcare expenses now represent more than 17 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), well over the average value for a nation of comparable size and wealth. Mitigating overspend and encouraging new profit avenues requires a shift in thinking according to the report — one that depends on a new value framework.
This framework leverages Big Data to identify what’s “right” for patients and healthcare agencies, including right provider, right value, right innovation and right care, along with finding ways to encouraging right living for patients. In other words, it’s a holistic use of Big Data to create value-driven feedback loops — as one “right” evolves, so do others in response.
Healthcare, Re-Imagined
Healthcare has a unique view of Big Data: used well, it’s possible to bump profits by lowering costs. Other verticals often see this market as distinct, but in fact the value-driven analytics now used by health agencies offer a positive profit prognosis across industries. Why? The holistic focus. Companies often view analytics channels as entirely separate, unconsciously handicapping their ability to maximize returns.
Consider instead a framework based on right product, right timeline, right marketing, and right conversion — when each value informs all others, the result is positive feedback. The outcome? A better bottom line.
Healthcare isn’t afraid to spend on predictive analytics, but technology isn’t enough in isolation. Holistic data integration is tied directly to increased profit over time.
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