Harnessing the power of data and analytics, hospitals are using advanced technology to make strides toward continued growth and improvement. Hospitals & Health Networks and the American Hospital Association have named the Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems based on their 2017 Health Care’s Most Wired Survey, and we see that data and analytics are gaining momentum as a conduit for improvement in the delivery of care and reducing costs. Expanding into various aspects of the healthcare delivery system, technology is driving efficiencies to improve the entire patient experience.
Hospitals are pursuing their access to data and gaining knowledge of how to use it to foster a culture of continuous improvement. Seventy-five percent of respondents say they use analytics such as predictive modeling to improve decision making across multiple departments. Applying predictive analytics to the scheduling and staffing in provider organizations is one way to drive efficiency and productivity in healthcare. Having greater clarity of patient demand and staffing needs results in improved patient and staff satisfaction, reductions in labor costs and time spent on scheduling tasks.
With growing pressure on hospitals and health systems to improve the patient experience, delivering valuable time back to clinical managers is one of the greatest benefits predictive analytics has to offer. Shifting the amount of time managers spend on scheduling to focusing that effort on patient care and staff development allows the organization to reach economies of scale. The indispensable gift of time has a ripple effect, extending its waves throughout the organization and ultimately benefiting the patient.
For healthcare leadership tasked with improving the patient experience while simultaneously cutting costs, data and analytics provide meaningful insights. While advanced analytics can generate impressive numbers, it takes knowledge and a deep understanding of workforce strategies to create actionable initiatives from data. Partnering with organizations who are experts in healthcare workforce management strategies are able to leverage the potential for provider organizations.
Advanced analytics has prompted healthcare leadership to utilize data that they have readily available to make organizational improvements. By analyzing current workforce metrics, organizations gain valuable insights into their operations and are able to map out actionable steps to proceed in a strategic direction. Due to the changes in the care delivery system, leadership must make workforce planning a priority, and they see the value in data and analytics.