Impact of Big Data on Health Care

Great customer experience is essential for strong overall business results. One way to improve the customer experience is to utilize big data analytics to fine tune your customer service strategy. But, the benefits of big data for your business don’t stop at customer service improvements. The analytics can be used across the organization to reduce the cost for various functions and products.

Big data plays an important role in all industries, but it is particularly important to today’s evolving healthcare industry. Healthcare is multi-faceted, so big data analytics can have an effect on multiple areas. Hospitals and insurers alike can leverage big data to enhance patient outcomes in a more competitive way while driving out unnecessary costs to the business.

According to the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), healthcare expenditures in the United States are currently about 18 percent of GDP. The opportunity for companies and hospitals to lower costs and create a better customer experience for consumers is directly tied to leveraging big data. Furthermore, understanding how to interpret these large amounts of data to serve the needs of the customer is a crucial part of the puzzle.

Big data helps improve healthcare’s customer experience

Big data provides a robust system of information that allows service providers to offer real-time customer service. Whether you are a hospital or insurer, having more data-centric tools allows customer-facing representatives to focus their service. Across the board, the service provided is more informed, analyzed and accurate. If a healthcare customer service representative has access to a database with the right medical information, they can easily look up answers to the patient’s questions. If they don’t have the answers, they should have the right resources to quickly pass the patient on to a more qualified representative.

When utilized correctly, big data gives healthcare companies the information needed to streamline customer service processes that personalize healthcare and create best practices for working with consumers or patients. Customers can receive a more thorough and personalized experience. As a result, people will be better cared for.

Big data helps drive out cost

As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog, without a clear understanding as to what is actually driving operating costs, companies manage in gross terms by using averages and expected standard costs. In today’s healthcare environment, a similar need to shift to a new model is essential for lowering overall operating costs.

Leveraging rich data sources in a shared environment will determine stronger correlations for healthcare needs with consumers or patients. For instance, hospitals can use historical data to determine the number of flu shots they need to order based on previous usage or providers can assist patients more quickly with access to their full medical histories. Consumers or patients can be an essential part of the process, by providing detailed, consistent health monitoring and wellness monitoring through healthcare applications.

We have seen companies in other industries leverage big data to dramatically reduce operating costs through better forecasting, which can be correlated to similar operating issues in the healthcare industry.

For any healthcare company in a period where they are transforming from an old to a new paradigm, the ability to leverage data and understand insights is critical. Once you understand the data you can most successfully serve your customers. By offering more personalized service through processed data, healthcare companies can provide optimal customer service to enhance the overall experience and lower their overall costs.

Contact us to learn more about how we use advanced data analytics to drive business insights.