Why APIs are Critical for Modernizing Your Business Operations

Healthcare is a complex, multifaceted ecosystem, and enterprises need to exercise extra caution while navigating it! With the increasing scope for digital health, retail healthcare, telemedicine, and consumerism, healthcare organizations need a 360-degree view of their patients to stay competitive.

Healthcare is an information-centric domain where data plays a pivotal role in organizational and operational decisions. Unfortunately, the data residing in multiple places is often siloed and disconnected. Therefore, it needs to be captured across all touchpoints and analyzed to enable a seamless patient experience.

Moreover, today healthcare providers are looking to leverage this data beyond their marketing efforts to enhance clinical care. According to McKinsey, a technology-driven solution has the potential to create an annual value of $350 billion to $410 billion by 2025 by improving our understanding of patients and facilitating personalized patient care.

This blog outlines the avenues to enable data-driven patient experience. But before that, let’s delve into some common challenges that limit the potential of data in the healthcare domain:

What Are Some Data Challenges in the Healthcare Industry?

Data Silos

This is a significant problem in healthcare, as it limits the care provider’s ability to personalize patient experience. For instance, healthcare repositories may have the patient’s medical history but not demographic details. The primary causes of data silos are inefficient data-sharing mechanisms across the healthcare spectrum and incomplete data input, which ultimately hinders the providers' ability to make informed decisions.

Data Integration

Even if the required data is readily available, it comes to fruition only if integrated into a unified customer view. Although managing data within one platform is straightforward, combining data from multiple external sources and devices needs exceptional matching capabilities. However, careful data maintenance and management are essential even after successful integration.

Real-time Access

For optimal healthcare outcomes, relying on monthly/quarterly patient records can be inefficient due to the dynamic nature of patients' health conditions. Hence, healthcare enterprises need to equip themselves with historical as well as real-time consumer data. The availability of real-time patient data enables providers to make more informed and precise decisions regarding treatment plans and required procedures. Furthermore, advanced AI/ML technology can be leveraged to streamline real-time access to patients’ health information and their clinical journey.

Enhancing Data-Driven Patient Experience

Lately, retail, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and travel industries have set a benchmark for customers’ expectations by offering personalized, omnichannel experiences. Today’s digital-oriented consumers expect all brands to engage with them across all channels and understand their unique needs and preferences throughout their dynamic journey.

The healthcare industry is no exception! It is keen to keep up with its modern consumers by strategically leveraging a vast trove of valuable information to deliver a highly personalized healthcare experience.

Data-driven healthcare has the potential to revolutionize patient experience. By leveraging data from a variety of sources, including patient feedback, medical records, and real-time monitoring, healthcare providers can better understand their patients' needs and preferences, and deliver more personalized and effective care.

1.   Collecting Patient Feedback: One of the most straightforward ways to enable data-driven patient experience is by collecting patient feedback. Healthcare providers can gather feedback through a variety of channels, such as surveys, focus groups, and social media. By analyzing this feedback, providers can identify patterns and trends in patient satisfaction, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategies to address patient concerns.
   
   For example, a hospital might conduct a patient satisfaction survey to understand how patients feel about their care. The survey might include questions about the quality of care, communication with healthcare providers, interaction experience with staff and hygiene levels of the facility. By analyzing the responses to these questions, the hospital can identify areas where they excel and areas where they need to improve. They can then use this information to develop strategies to improve patient experience, such as investing in better communication tools, training staff for better patient interactions or implementing new cleaning protocols.
2.   Leveraging Patient Data: Another key avenue to enable data-driven patient experience is by leveraging patient data. Healthcare providers can use patient data, such as medical history, treatment outcomes, and satisfaction ratings, to personalize the patient experience. For example, a patient's medical history can be used to recommend relevant resources and educational materials.
   
   A McKinsey study reports that about 20 to 25% of US healthcare spending is being wasted unnecessarily. By maximizing data utilization, it is possible to cut down this waste by 50%-70%. With access to a patient's medical history, doctors can determine the most appropriate treatment, avoiding costly and redundant tests and procedures.
3.   Implementing Patient Portals: Patient portals provide patients with access to their health information, such as test results, appointments, and medications. This can empower patients to take an active role in their healthcare and improve their overall experience.
   
   A patient could use a patient portal to schedule appointments, view their test results, and communicate with their healthcare provider. These portals can also help healthcare providers to deliver more efficient and effective care, by reducing administrative burdens and improving communication with patients.
4.   Using Predictive Analytics: Predictive analytics is another powerful tool for enabling data-driven patient experience in healthcare. Healthcare providers can use predictive analytics to anticipate patient needs and proactively address them. For example, if a patient is at risk for a particular condition, healthcare providers can take steps to prevent it from occurring.
   
   For instance, if a patient has a family history of heart disease, the healthcare provider might use predictive analytics to identify early warning signs of heart disease and develop a personalized prevention plan. By using predictive analytics in this way, healthcare providers can improve patient outcomes and reduce the overall cost of care.
5.   Implementing Telemedicine: Finally, telemedicine is another avenue to enable data-driven patient experience in healthcare. Telemedicine allows patients to connect with healthcare providers remotely, which can be especially useful for patients in rural areas or those who have mobility issues. It can also improve patient engagement and education. With virtual consultations and remote monitoring, patients can be more actively involved in their own care; they can receive education and guidance on how to manage their condition, and they can have more frequent interactions with their healthcare provider. This can help to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction.

Conclusion

The transformational power of data in the healthcare ecosystem is immense! It can address many of the industry’s concerns at all levels, from very basic patient care to overarching industry challenges. It can also initiate a culture of continuous improvement in patient experience. Healthcare organizations may access subject matter experts with deep domain knowledge who can help build a data-driven environment – thus ensuring that data is efficiently leveraged to drive meaningful outcomes and stay ahead in the rapidly-evolving healthcare space.

Intelliswift’s team of experts helps healthcare businesses analyze and manage data more efficiently with the right technology and toolsets. We are proficient in powerful data analytics platforms, such as Snowflake, Tableau, Alteryx, QlikView, PowerBI, and Microstrategy. We partner with some of the leading companies in software applications, niche technology solutions providers, and data & services. To gain more insight into the scope of data within the healthcare industry, contact us today.