Management Strategies

Planning and evaluation is always at the front line of health care today. Take information as an example. In the past there were log books and paper charts to keep track of patients, patient’s medications, and test results. Today there is extensive planning on the best way to collect patient information and also great planning in the evaluation of this information. Over the last decade, pharmaceutical companies have been aggregating years of research and development data into medical databases, while payers and providers have digitized their patient records (Kayyali, Kuiken, & Knott, 2013). Recent technical advances have made it easier to collect and analyze information from multiple sources—a major benefit in health care, since data for a single patient may come from various payers, hospitals, laboratories, and physician offices (Kayyali, Kuiken, & Knott, 2013). With these changes it is important of health-care stakeholders to compile and exchange information to keep up with the needs of patients and quality of service.

While health-care costs may be paramount in big data’s rise, but now care is based more on evidence based need. Physicians have traditionally used their judgment when making treatment decisions, but in the last few years there has been a move toward evidence-based medicine, which involves systematically reviewing clinical data and making treatment decisions based on the best available information (Kayyali, Kuiken, & Knott, 2013). Although the health-care industry has been the last to join the big data—partly because of concerns about patient confidentiality—it could soon catch up. If stakeholders are not on board they can find themselves left behind in the healthcare field.  Patient data is of great value due to it shows the trends and needs of today’s healthcare patients while provided much needed data for physicians and hospitals.

References

Kayyali, B., Kuiken, S. V., & Knott, D. (2013, April). The Big-Data Revolution in US Health Care: Accelerating Value and Innovation. Retrieved from McKinsey Insights on Health Systems: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/health_systems/the_big-data_revolution_in_us_health_care

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/health_systems/the_big-data_revolution_in_us_health_care