Harnessing the Power of Data Warehouses in Healthcare | HackerNoon

The modern world revolves around data. It is essential for decision making across all sectors, and healthcare is no exception. Actually, around 30% of the world’s data volume is produced by the healthcare sector alone. Records and reports are collected for each patient’s diagnosis, hospital admission, home care, and prescription. Maintaining an efficient system for collecting and retrieving this data is imperative to providing effective care to all patients. However, almost 80% of healthcare executives claim that they have doubts about their organization’s data because of problems with accessibility, storage, and classification.

The Power of Data is Within Healthcare Organizations

Healthcare companies are starting to realize the potential of their data and are looking into new and creative methods to use. One of the most important tools for taking full advantage of their existing data is artificial intelligence. AI is already being used by 54% of healthcare companies to document medical charts, record visit notes, and generate billing codes. AI is also being utilized to develop care plans and progress notes, and also automate insurance authorizations. However, there are a few downsides. Generative models need to be trained on a lot of data, and open models like ChatGPT might be risky for privacy, especially when it comes to HIPAA compliance.

The most valuable data comes internally from the organization itself, despite AI’s potential. Patient outcomes can dramatically improve with the help of proper data usage, including the creation of individualized treatment plans, quicker and more accurate diagnoses, and more efficient clinical workflows. Data also helps to speed up the release of novel therapies and increase the equitable access to treatments that can save lives. Improper usage does come at a price however – it may result in incorrect prescriptions, missed diagnoses, delayed treatment, and legal risks.

The fragmented nature of healthcare data is a significant barrier to efficient data usage. Hospitals and healthcare systems depend on an average of 367 software platforms that contain data sources such as census, clinical, reimbursement, and staffing data. It’s estimated that a knowledge worker wastes as much as 29% of their work week trying to find the information they need. In addition to raising the possibility of manual error, this inefficiency raises significant privacy and security issues.

The Rise of Data Warehouses in Healthcare

Data warehouses, a centralized platform that gathers data in one easily accessible location, are one viable approach. However, constructing a data warehouse internally can take 12 to 36 months and can require a large financial and technical commitment. This massive uplift encourages a lot of healthcare companies to use third party vendors who provide pre-made, SOC2- and HIPAA-compliant solutions. These solutions remove the need to manually manage dozens of vendor integrations, while streamlining implementation and lowering maintenance costs. These third-party data warehouses may usually be operational within 90 days.

Conclusion

The well-being of society depends heavily on healthcare, and advancements in data gathering and use could greatly improve the quality of care provided. Healthcare firms may cut down on inefficiencies, protect patient data, and deliver faster care by investing in centralized data systems. Data is the future for healthcare in the future, and data warehouses are a reliable way to improve this important piece proactively.