The main business drivers in healthcare are societal, technological, economic, environmental, and political (Puthussery, n.d.). Trends in technological forces create better healthcare and affect societal change (e.g., living longer). Issues such as the high cost of healthcare, or controversial topics such as marijuana legislation, are influenced by economic and political factors. These business drivers will impact data acquisition, integration, and management in healthcare.
As we progress, data acquisition will be an asset. The more data we have, the more important it is to find insight to create evidence based care. Computer pattern recognition and predictive analytics will facilitate experienced based care (Coatney, 2018). Besides data from a clinical setting, sensors from wearable consumer devices will help regulate people’s behavior, create healthcare customization, and increase healthcare access.
As data increases, its integration with business models and healthcare will increase. Previously, data’s utility was seen as transactional for finding cost savings (Aiken et al., 2017, p. 58). A typical ledger would record debits and credits to help account for cash flows. Now, data is an asset that can be reused and sold. Tech firms such as Amazon have been trying to tap the healthcare market by creating software that can mine patient’s data (Evans & Stevens, 2009). Hospitals and clinics are increasingly viewed as storage units of patient data. As a barometer for current trends, venture capitalist have poured $7 billion in healthcare technology startups (Cohen, 2020).
Business management in healthcare will also change. Data’s increase places a premium on good information for making strategic business decisions such a mergers and acquisitions. As outlined in many data governance program models, management will need to see data as a business asset governed by business stakeholders rather than an IT problem (Intricity101, 2014). Enterprise Data Executive (EDE) roles will start to emerge.
Similar to when the word “strategy” became popular in business after WWII, “data” will become increasingly popular with business culture as the variety, volume, and velocity increase (Aiken et al., 2017, p. 22). Behemoths like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are seeing opportunities but our culture is being affected as well; John King is famous for his data visualization maps with CNN, Nate Silver from Five Thirty Eight is a regular guest on ABC News, and Meet the Press has its own Data Download news segment. In 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate, the fictional character Sarah Connor was paranoid about cell phone data being tracked. Like Connor, we’re becoming increasingly aware of how our data is valued.. For the foreseeable future, big data is here to stay.
References
Aiken, P., Harbour, T., & Casey, M. (2017). Data strategy and the enterprise data executive : ensuring that business and IT are in synch in the post-big data era Peter Aiken, Todd Harbour ; foreword by Micheline Casey. Technics Publications.
Coatney, K. (2018). Big Data Analytics Capabilities, the Business Value of Information Technology, and Healthcare Organizations: The Need for Consensus in Evidence-Based Medical Practices. American Journal of Medical Research, 5(2), 28-33.
Cohen, J. K. (2020). Start me up: Venture capitalists, health systems pour $7 billion into health tech startups. Modern Healthcare, 50(3), 14-14.
Evans, M., & Stevens, L. (2018, Nov 27). Amazon starts selling software to mine patient health records; the move is the latest by a technology company to tap the health-care market. Wall Street Journal (Online) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/2138185255?accountid=14509
Intricity101. (2014, July 1). What is Data Governance? [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/sHPY8zIhy60
Puthussery, S. (n.d.). Business Drivers in Healthcare [Video]. VidGrid. https://app.vidgrid.com/view/AVQjiqz9C7mQ?autoplay=1&t=69.70