Planning Analytics Blog

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Collaboration Inside and Outside the Healthcare Analytics Wall Wins!

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41422393 - bar graph chart data information inforgraphic report conceptFor the better part of the last decade, healthcare organizations have focused on implementing electronic medical records (EMR), ISD 9-10 coding, and consolidating systems. Now, we finally have the tools in place to collect and create the data, and transforming it into usable information is the exciting challenge.

Data transformation involves a different set of skills than those of traditional hospital or health system IT departments. With data transformation, there is a much greater focus on data architects and data scientists who can help convert reams of data or petabytes and terabytes of data into meaningful information. Professionals with these skills are going to be in high demand for some time.

Those of us who manage healthcare data are charged with keeping data secure while also making it available to support research and easily accessible and transparent to patients. Sometimes, those goals are at odds with each other.

The traditional mindset, particularly in health systems, is that IT departments are mostly hired and maintained within the organization. However, for certain crucial skillsets, organizations must collaborate with vendor partners and with the industry.

Certainly, you will gain a unique advantage by collaborating with outsourced thought partners and data scientists rather than following the traditional route of hiring an IT analyst. As these new partnerships continue to evolve, we will likely see collaboration within the industry and among C-teams more than ever before.

You can get your organization healthier and more confident with a process for improvements based upon the data analytics processes that support savvy, cost-effective decisions. That’s where and how you will see not only a greater adoption of planning analytics, but far greater measurable and sustainable results.

Do your research. Ask a lot of questions. Engage a successful, seasoned team of data integration and planning analysts. We cost less and deliver more. Our Austin, Texas location keeps us at the epicenter of planning analytics and data-driven healthcare innovation and keeps our global capabilities and services at the forefront of our industry.

Email us at kcerny@mia-consulting.com or call us at 512.478.3848 to start a friendly, productive conversation.

More on Data Visualization for Strategic Planning

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Data VisualizationThere are three main steps to completing a data visualization. Steps 1 and 2 are interchangeable and may sometimes occur simultaneously

  1. Formulating the question you want your visualization to answer or the story you want your visualization to tell
  2. Gathering, understanding, and sorting the data
  3. Applying the visual representation

Examining the Data

  • Do you have all the data you need?
  • Does it include all the variables that you are interested in?
  • Are there any obvious errors in your data?
  • Is there any data that is missing?

Understanding the Data Types

  • What type of data have you acquired?

Transforming for Quality

  • Do you need to clean up your data?
  • Do you need to fix any errors or fill in any gaps in your data?

Transforming for Analysis

  • Parsing (splitting up) and variables, such as extracting year from a date value
  • Merging variables to form new ones, such as creating a whole name out of title, forename, and surname
  • Converting qualitative data/free-text into coded values or keywords
  • Deriving new values out of others, such as gender from title or a sentiment out of some qualitative data
  • Creating calculations for use in analysis, such as percentage proportions
  • Removing redundant data for which you have no planned use (be careful though!)

Do you need more tools to get your data into a visual storytelling format? Take a look at the Stanford University tool; Or talk to us before you commit your valuable assets.

We can get you off to a hot, fast start in 2016. We’ll do the heavy lifting to transform and load your data into meaningful sets, mobilize and monitor your planning analytics so they enhance your BI priorities. We’ll give you insights into trends, measure progress toward a set of quantitative goals, flag shifts in your markets or financial operations and even lift your customer experiences to a higher level. Whew, that’s saying a lot. Or is that just what you needed to hear?

Call us to start a neutral and friendly conversation. 512 478 3848.