For years, researchers and policyholders have tried to come
up with suitable options to offer high-quality healthcare to the people. Though
the concept of population health management looked promising, there were a few
barriers, which hindered its implementation. At the start of 2020, the COVID
pandemic hit us and sent a long list of sick people to the hospitals and broke the
backbone of an already weak healthcare system.
COVID affected the finances of several hospitals and taught
them an important lesson- they don’t have enough resources to help COVID
patients. Until the vaccine comes out, hospitals will continue to get a combination
of COVID and general cases. To be better prepared, governments and health care
organizations have to work together to adopt the use of data analytics and come
up with suitable population health management strategies.
How can population health management
and data analytics prove to be useful in the long run?
Population health management takes the help of artificial
intelligence to collect the data of people and compress it into a single and
actionable patient record. This largely helps healthcare organizations to
identify sick people and get them the necessary care. With the advancement of
technology, organizations can use the improved AI to its advantage and build up
the healthcare system to meet their needs.
Here is a list of four data analytics and population health
management trends that the organizations around the globe should follow to
survive the ‘New Normal in healthcare-
·
Data collection via wearable
technology
Smart devices (bands, rings, and watches) are very popular
these days. Initially, these devices were launched to track the number of steps
and calories burnt by a user. But with the latest advancements, these devices
can now track sleep patterns, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen pressure, etc.
If you think about it, a user can track his/her health over time and get
accurate records when needed.
With people’s permission, organizations can collect this data
to analyze it further. As per Cedars Sinai’s
founding, Fitbits
can track the effectiveness of chemotherapy in cancer patients. Imagine what
all health systems can do with this kind of data. It’s quite possible to
improve population health outcomes, treatment success rates, and more.
·
Association with community
organizations
Community organizations were created to offer support to the
low socioeconomic sections of society. Partnership with them can prove to be useful
for health systems. Community organizations know where help is needed. Health
organizations can identify those areas and provide the necessary aid. This way,
areas that aren’t in reach of regular healthcare will receive better care.
·
Vaccination at the right price
Vaccination is the building block of the population health
strategy. One of the key population health goals is to raise the vaccine rates
under-immunized population. Those who don’t choose to get vaccinated are at a
greater risk of getting sick. Health care providers need to identify and
connect with such people. With the help of healthcare CRM, providers can target
vulnerable populations (who aren’t patients yet but share the similar traits of
the existing patients) and get them the necessary care.
If and when the COVID vaccine comes out, health and wellness
marketing campaigns should educate the importance of vaccination to the
patients and encourage them to get vaccinated. This way, providers can
eliminate the disease and put less pressure on the healthcare system by selling
vaccination at the right price in densely populated areas.
·
Cultural Change
COVID pandemic has ushered a new age of analytics use and
it’s safe to assume that more health care providers will join the movement.
This will require a change in culture. Instead of coming up with hypothetical decisions,
providers need to use the data to generate insights. Acceptance regarding this
will grow as providers see the power of early impact.
Health care organizations need to support cultural change in
three key areas.
1. Hospital staff needs to understand
the insights from the decision engine and should be able to explain it to the
patients.
2. To gather and analyze data, hospitals
will require appropriate equipment and facilities.
3. Workable data strategy.
The COVID pandemic made us realize how under-prepared and
weak our health care system is. More such crises are right around the corner.
Instead of getting beaten by them, it’s better to make the cultural shift at
the earliest. Countries and their health care systems should encourage the
widespread use of AI, which will reduce costs and improve patient care.
