Data Analytics: How it Helps Healthcare Industry Deliver Better Patient Care
Out of the countless wonderful tools that the constant evolution of technology has given us, none is proving to be quite as popular and useful as data analytics. Why is that? Well, mostly because it offers a world of advantages, depending on the industry. This holds for the healthcare sector as well, which has found intriguing applications for data analytics. Listed below are some of these uses that are lending valuable assistance to healthcare companies as they seek to deliver better quality patient care.
1. Drug discovery: Developing a new drug or treatment is a painfully expensive affair. No, really; The cost of bringing a new drug to market can run in a few billion. Now, a sizable chunk of this cost is associated with research and development work. Do you know what can help with that? You guessed it, data analytics. It helps companies make use of historical relevant data that has been gathered from across an abundance of sources to understand things such as what parameters are more likely to deliver targeted or better results.
2. Improved and accurate diagnoses: A critical way in which data analytics have come to contribute to the world of healthcare is in the context of diagnosis. Via machine-learning algorithms, doctors can improve the quality of their diagnosis and treatment plans. You see, such tools, when used appropriately can quickly analyze data. This ability can be put to work in the context of scans. Indeed; with the right kind of algorithm, such tools can quickly analyze MRI scans and other such medical images to detect any anomalies much more quickly than a human would be able to.
3. Predictive analytics and tailored treatment: The process of leveraging historical data to make predictions, i.e. predictive analytics, has taken off quite well in the healthcare segment. Though this particular tool has a variety of applications, there is one aspect that has garnered quite a bit more — treatment plans tailored to each patient. What predictive data analytics does is helps facilities determine patients and individuals that may be at high risk of developing specific conditions based on their lab test results, etc. This information can then be used to help doctors offer appropriate information and treatment plans that will help patients achieve the best results and also avoid long-term issues related to their well-being.
It is no secret that the world of healthcare generates an exorbitant amount of data every single day and even more so now that we are living amid a pandemic. Of course, this abundance of data poses some challenges and yet, there has been growing consensus in the industry as well as among experts that healthcare data analytics is the way forward. Furthermore, as an increasing number of healthcare organizations integrate healthcare data analytics solutions in their operations, they are already starting to observe viable benefits. Starting from significantly improved quality of care and lower costs of treatment to an improved ability to support patients’ health — data analytics has enabled all this and more. If you too wish to realize all these benefits for your healthcare business, now you know what you need to do.
