As our mobile devices become more powerful, we are all becoming increasingly analytics-savvy. IT departments aren’t analyzing and reporting data anymore, either. They’re creating software that does that automatically. As a result, you might be surprised at who’s contributing to and making use of your organization’s Business Intelligence, and what a good thing that is.
Crowdsourcing Intel
Business Intelligence has traditionally been gathered by IT departments, then synthesized into usable models for organizational leadership to look over and share with relevant departments. But this is no longer the case. The ease of accessing BI using software on mobile devices has made accumulating data a real-time process shared by professionals throughout the healthcare industry. Friendly interfaces and accessible visuals generated from metrics provided in real-time have made BI available to employees without a middleman.
This is terrific news, because it makes the importance of BI tangible for healthcare professionals like doctors and nurses. When they can see the rapid, useful application of the data they collect, they’re likely to provide even more information, and to do it more regularly.
Optimizing Service
Putting analytics in your employees’ hands creates a self-service model, giving them the power to problem-solve and adjust their workflows. In short, the power of BI creates a model very much like the one the developers of BI software use. Healthcare professionals are able to make constant adjustments based on feedback, and maximize the effectiveness of the products and services they provide.
The intel that healthcare professionals derive from BI is useful specifically because it’s detailed and actionable. It’s not based on hunches or anecdotal evidence. This means that healthcare workers are more likely to be heard by upper management when they suggest changes.
Proactively Engaging Patients
But that’s only part of the picture. The healthcare industry has another user to leverage when it comes to BI: the patient. Patients are already accustomed to using apps that monitor their exercise and diet. They use IoT options like FitBits. They allow their phones to access their location using GPS in order to maximize apps’ effectiveness. The healthcare industry is catching on; with patients as willing partners, they’re monitoring everything from asthma attacks to blood sugar levels. This kind of partnership can be an excellent way to use wellness initiatives to improve outcomes.
Lowering Costs
Need another reason to be happy about widespread BI use in healthcare? It’s estimated that optimizing BI across the industry could result in between $300 and $450 billion in savings—as much as 17% of baseline healthcare spending.
The bottom line? The new world of crowdsourced BI provides a much more organic model, with more data coming in, and more optimized practices rippling out. If you’re not leveraging this gold mine of big data, what are you waiting for?
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