Hospital executives see rising needs for predictive analytics, but use of the capability is only emerging within healthcare, and some believe that their organizations lack appropriate data or tools.
Nearly 80 percent of hospital executives believe healthcare can be improved through the use of predictive analytics, a population health management tool that can help providers manage costly challenges, such as preventing readmissions and handling fluctuations in patient census.
However, only 31 percent of respondents to a recent survey say their organizations have used the technology for more than a year, and nearly one in five (19 percent) say their organizations have no plans to use it.
The survey involved 136 health professionals who responded to an online survey in August conducted by Health Catalyst, a data warehouse, analytics and outcomes vendor.
“Overall, the survey findings point to a growing need within the provider community for solutions that help to identify long-term rising-risk patients who are on their way to becoming high-cost consumers of heath care,” said Levi Thatcher, Director of Data Science at Health Catalyst. “With an ever greater light being cast on system-wide inefficiencies, providers are hungry for analytics that will help them identify and treat these patients before their health deteriorates, both improving their lives and reducing needless spending across the system.
