Healthcare leaders are collecting data at a higher rate than ever before and data analytics is on the tip of everyone's tongue. But is the data used effectively?
A new survey from Stoltenberg Consulting examines the biggest issues in Health IT today and how leaders are re-focusing their efforts to make sure data is used as effectively as possible.
"Ultimately, data analytics is only as good as the data being analyzed," said Vice President of Stoltenberg Consulting. "Therefore, adoption is critical among all users along the data collection pathway."
Here are eight key statistics from the report:
1. 41 percent of respondents said data analytics and business intelligence were the biggest topics in health IT this year.
2. 51 percent said there was confusion for which healthcare data to collect and how much data should be collected.
3. 34 percent said there wasn't buy-in across their healthcare organizations, which was the biggest barrier to IT initiatives. The lack of buy-in can place road blocks to achieving meaningful use and data analytics projects.
4. 40 percent felt a key business objective for their organization was improving patient care; only 15 percent said financial viability was a key business objective.
5. 33 percent of the respondents said their organizations don't know what to do with their data or what to look for.
6. 10 percent thought the tools and strategies they need for effective healthcare analytics use weren't available yet.
7. 21 percent feel mobile health is the biggest health IT topic in 2015; 26 percent think health information exchanges are.
8. 6 percent feel data analytics is too intimidating; therefore their organizations are having trouble with implementation.
"Organizations feel they need to jump on the big data bandwagon, yet they approach this emerging issue reactively versus proactively," said Mr. Pilcher. "Healthcare IT leaders should instead focus on collecting smart healthcare data, monitoring what data they're saving and concentrating on the quality, quantity and validity of data needed to answer future questions for organizations."