Business intelligence for healthcare: a full implementation guide
May 23, 2023
The role of business intelligence in healthcare
Digital transformation of the healthcare industry has contributed to generating terabytes of complex data, increasing the need for sophisticated healthcare BI tools.
of the world’s data volume is generated by the healthcare industry
RBC Capital Markets
expected value of the global healthcare business intelligence market by 2027
Emergen Research
estimated CAGR of the healthcare BI market between 2022 and 2032
Future Market Insights
10 BI use cases in the healthcare industry
You can use business intelligence tools in almost any area of healthcare to enhance clinical and administrative workflows.
Individual health trends analytics
Analyzing each patient’s data to identify trends and patterns, improve patient care outcomes and reduce costs.
Population health management
Analyzing data from multiple sources to identify health trends, risk factors, and opportunities for intervention in a particular group of patients to improve population health.
Staffing optimization
Using organizations’ data to optimize staffing levels, redistribute the workload, and reduce burnout rates and hiring costs.
Fraud detection
Processing data from various sources to detect and prevent insurance fraud, waste of resources, and healthcare system abuse.
Supply chain management
Analyzing inventory, purchasing, and distribution data to optimize the supply chain and reduce costs.
Clinical trial management
Tracking and analyzing data from clinical trials to improve trial efficiency and outcomes and participants’ satisfaction.
Quality reporting and improvement
Creating data-based reports on quality measures to comply with regulations and improve patient care.
Revenue flow improvement
Processing financial data to optimize revenue cycle, including billing and insurance workflows.
Facility management
Analyzing data from IoT devices and hospital management software to monitor the safety, hygiene, and proper usage of healthcare facilities.
Drug research
Processing data from healthcare, pharmaceutical, and other sources to develop new treatments faster, more effectively, and with fewer side effects.
Real-life examples of BI in patient care and beyond
For more than ten years, our team has provided BI consulting and end-to-end implementation services for healthcare industry players.
10x
faster data processing
Pharmaceutical data analytics suite
Our experts transformed a BI platform for a US-based multinational company providing advanced analytics and technology solutions for the pharmaceutical market. We created a BI suite of data management and visualization apps with a KPI management solution and supported data migration to the cloud.
2x
faster test runs
Healthcare analytics applications revamp
We helped a global leader in designing, manufacturing, and selling analytical solutions for the healthcare and pharma industries to redesign a suite of five products enabling them to deliver a better user experience while also showing higher productivity compared to their previous versions.
3x
faster change request delivery
Client delivery team for healthcare BI
Our dedicated delivery team partnered closely with a global leader in BI, ML, AI, and data science systems for the pharmaceutical industry, separating client requests from product development and ensuring reliable planning and successful delivery. The team simultaneously supported 10+ corporate clients with their own specifics, complex processes, and different PM methodologies.
10x
faster data processing
Pharmaceutical data analytics suite
Our experts transformed a BI platform for a US-based multinational company providing advanced analytics and technology solutions for the pharmaceutical market. We created a BI suite of data management and visualization apps with a KPI management solution and supported data migration to the cloud.
2x
faster test runs
Healthcare analytics applications revamp
We helped a global leader in designing, manufacturing, and selling analytical solutions for the healthcare and pharma industries to redesign a suite of five products enabling them to deliver a better user experience while also showing higher productivity compared to their previous versions.
3x
faster change request delivery
Client delivery team for healthcare BI
Our dedicated delivery team partnered closely with a global leader in BI, ML, AI, and data science systems for the pharmaceutical industry, separating client requests from product development and ensuring reliable planning and successful delivery. The team simultaneously supported 10+ corporate clients with their own specifics, complex processes, and different PM methodologies.
10x
faster data processing
Pharmaceutical data analytics suite
Our experts transformed a BI platform for a US-based multinational company providing advanced analytics and technology solutions for the pharmaceutical market. We created a BI suite of data management and visualization apps with a KPI management solution and supported data migration to the cloud.
2x
faster test runs
Healthcare analytics applications revamp
We helped a global leader in designing, manufacturing, and selling analytical solutions for the healthcare and pharma industries to redesign a suite of five products enabling them to deliver a better user experience while also showing higher productivity compared to their previous versions.
3x
faster change request delivery
Client delivery team for healthcare BI
Our dedicated delivery team partnered closely with a global leader in BI, ML, AI, and data science systems for the pharmaceutical industry, separating client requests from product development and ensuring reliable planning and successful delivery. The team simultaneously supported 10+ corporate clients with their own specifics, complex processes, and different PM methodologies.
What our clients say
The solution Itransition delivered helped us further raise the bar in the level of services we provide to our clients and allowed us to significantly increase their satisfaction and bolster our competitiveness on the market. While working on the project, Itransition’s team has proven to be responsible and experienced professionals, often acting as a valuable technology consultant, and demonstrated a highly creative, autonomous, and proactive approach.
Thanks to Itransition’s technology expertise and experience in setting up development processes in multinational distributed teams, we have been able to accelerate delivery, scale teams up without slowing down development, and increase team velocity and productivity. All the above helped us speed up proving product viability, hitting important milestones, and showing demos to key company players.
4 major healthcare business intelligence components
A successful healthcare BI solution gathers data from different sources, stores, processes, and governs it securely and effectively. Four main BI solution components handle particular tasks.
Extract, transform, and load (ETL)
Acquires data from multiple sources, alters, repairs, cleans, verifies and recombines if needed, and loads it into a repository.
Normalizes, stores, and analyzes data to combine it into more comprehensive categories inside one database. It also helps properly govern data inside the organization, safeguarding and securing it.
Data mining and discovery
Processes large volumes of data, analyzes it, and presents insights to make strategic data-based decisions.
Data visualization and reporting
Helps present analytical insights in more comprehensive formats featuring multiple visualization techniques.
Ready to make data-driven decisions to boost your healthcare services?
4 types of healthcare business intelligence
The healthcare sector requires providers to employ four major types of business intelligence.
Descriptive analytics
Seeks to summarize and describe past events or trends. For example, the path of a virus spread during a pandemic and the correlation between demographics and health outcomes.
Prescriptive analytics
Analyses data to provide action or decision recommendations. For example, which treatment plan to use for a particular patient’s condition.
Diagnostic analytics
Identifies and analyzes the root causes of past events or outcomes. For example, what caused the patient’s illness or why some healthcare services are less popular than others.
Uses statistical models and machine learning algorithms to forecast future events or behaviors based on past data. For example, which insurance plan would suit a particular group of patients.
Top BI tools for decision-making in healthcare
There are many business intelligence tools available for healthcare professionals. The choice of the particular solution depends on specific business needs, budget, and IT infrastructure.
Chart title: BI Solutions Magic Quadrant Data source: Gartner, 2022
A widely-used data visualization tool that allows healthcare providers to connect to various data sources, create interactive dashboards and visualizations, and share insights with others.
Key differentiators
- A user-friendly interface
- A relatively low learning curve
- Intuitive analytics experience based on its patented VizQL engine
Limitations
- High price for Premium plans
- Better suited for small datasets
Platform pricing
From $15 to $70 per user/month
Free trial
available
A cloud-based BI tool that helps healthcare organizations to execute essentially the same operations as Tableau. However, it has more robust data processing capabilities better suited for handling more complex big data.
Key differentiators
- Augmented analytics capabilities, including intelligent narratives and anomaly detection capabilities
- Can be used as a stand-alone, free self-service BI tool
Limitations
- A steep learning curve
- An on-premises version has functional gaps compared to the cloud service
- Azure-only deployment
Platform pricing
Power BI Pro
$10 per user/month
Power BI Premium
$20 per user/month or $4,995 per capacity/month with an annual subscription and an unlimited number of users
Power BI Embedded
from $1.0081/hour for
Free trial
available for two months
BI software platform with an intuitive interface for complex data visualization allows users to create interactive reports and dashboards using drag-and-drop functionality. It handles big volumes of healthcare data and integrates well with other SAS products and Microsoft 365, which makes it more expensive than other BI solutions for healthcare.
Key differentiators
- Advanced predictive modeling and data visualization tools for identifying trends, patterns, and opportunities
- Available on a preferred cloud provider
Limitations
- High costs
- Limited support for unstructured data and non-healthcare data sources
Platform pricing
Individual plans
up to $10,000 annually (enterprise license)
Free trial
available for two weeks
A BI platform encompassing data modeling, preparation, processing, visualization, and machine learning capabilities. It combines an intuitive interface and continually expanding features and capabilities, providing varied and deep insights for data-driven medical decisions.
Key differentiators
- Scalable architecture and in-chip technology for handling large volumes of data and enabling faster query response times
- Embedding capabilities for integrating analytics into third-party applications and workflows
Limitations
- Restricted customization options for some visualization and reporting features
- Restricted support for unstructured data sources
Platform pricing
$25,000 per year
Free trial
on request
A suite of BI tools that includes ad hoc analysis, reporting, and dashboarding capabilities. It has smooth integration with Oracle databases, which can be an advantage for healthcare organizations that already use Oracle products. This solution offers similar capabilities to Power BI but is usually more expensive.
Key differentiators
- An efficient, scalable reporting solution available for complex, distributed environments
- Powers adaptive solutions for real-time decision management
Limitations
- High upfront costs and ongoing licensing fees
- Limited support for non-Oracle data sources and applications
- Limited mobile support for certain features and functions
Platform pricing
Starting
from $150 per month
Free trial
on request
A powerful BI platform that includes data integration from a wide range of data sources and systems, comprehensive reporting, and analytics capabilities.
Key differentiators
- Deployment flexibility, including enterprise SaaS and customer-hosted options
- Multi-cloud and on-premises installation, without limiting customers to any particular cloud
Limitations
- Complicated pricing model
- Lower visualization capabilities compared to several other BI tools due to narrow choice of charts
- Limited data extraction capabilities
Platform pricing
Qlik Sense Business
$30 per user/month
Qlik Sense Enterprise SaaS
individual pricing
Free trial
n/a
A data visualization and analytics solution with capabilities for interactive reports and dashboards creation, ad hoc analysis, and collaboration, which is especially useful for organizations leveraging other IBM products.
Key differentiators
- Scalable architecture and in-memory technology for handling large volumes of data and accommodating future growth
Limitations
- Steep learning curve for non-technical users
- Restricted support for unstructured data sources and non-healthcare data sources
Platform pricing
Limited functionality plans
from $10 per user/month for
Enterprise plans
available on request
Free trial
available
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Essential integrations for healthcare BI
Key integration options
EHR/EMR
Healthcare CRM
Healthcare
ecommerce
Pharmacy
management software
Healthcare image analysis software
Medical devices
EHRs provide a vital data source for BI analysis and clinical decision-making, while BI tools help optimize the EHR’s performance and effectiveness.
As well as EHRs, healthcare CRM contains patient data that should be processed by BI software, and their proper integration ensures safe, secure, and accurate data transfer between systems.
Analyzing customer data like purchasing history, shipping details, requests, and feedback improves the effectiveness of marketing and sales workflows, leading to better business decisions.
Connecting BI tools to pharmacy management software can provide insights into pharmacies' workflows, contributing to the safety and effectiveness of multiple groups of drugs.
Medical images represent a significant volume of the most valuable healthcare data. Still, the data should be extracted with specialized analytics software and then processed by the business intelligence solutions.
Medical devices can feed data to BI solutions in real time if integrated smoothly, contributing to the accuracy and relevancy of the insights provided by the BI tools.
Healthcare BI software selection guide
Choosing the most appropriate software for your organization is a challenge. While healthcare providers can pick software themselves, opting for business intelligence consulting to streamline the selection process. Our experts have compiled a guide on selecting a BI solution.
1
Define goals
Understand what you want to achieve by adopting a business intelligence solution, what data you need to collect, and what sources you have. List your requirements and prioritize them based on their importance for your practice.
2
Research and compare different BI solutions
Research the most popular BI tools for the healthcare industry and check how their capabilities correspond to your requirements. Pay attention to data integration, visualization, analytics, and reporting capabilities. Consider the scalability, interoperability, and flexibility of the solution as well.
3
Check vendor references
Look for vendors that have experience working with organizations similar to yours. Talk to other providers that have used the solution to see if they were satisfied with its performance based on their pre-defined KPIs. Check if there are any red flags or negative reviews.
4
Ensure data security and compliance
Ensure the solution meets industry-specific security and compliance requirements such as HIPAA, GDPR, or PIPEDA. Ask the vendor about their security protocols, data encryption, and backup procedures.
5
Assess the ease of adoption and usage
Look for solutions that offer a user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation. Consider how easy it will be for your staff to integrate the solution into their workflows and how it will impact their daily tasks.
6
Consider the total cost of ownership (TCO)
Compare the TCO of different solutions to determine those offering the best value for your organization. Also, consider the potential solution’s ROI in terms of improving patient outcomes and reducing overall costs.
Benefits of healthcare BI
Reduces organization’s expenses by optimizing performance
Improves health outcomes due to more data-based clinical decisions
Enhances patient satisfaction by personalizing care
Saves medical professionals’ time with more efficient workflows
Presents new growth opportunities, thus increasing organizations’ revenue
Boosts population health through demographic-based actionable insights
Healthcare BI software
Addressing healthcare BI adoption challenges
Like any other software, BI tools have their inefficiencies and characteristics that can put healthcare organizations off from implementing the system.
Challenges
Solutions
Due to the number and variety of data sources in most medical, pharmaceutical, and insurance companies, data they receive is often inconsistent or incomplete.
Any organization that wants to use BI tools to the fullest, should implement a robust data governance framework that includes data quality control, profiling, cleansing, and integration.
Healthcare providers must comply with data privacy and security regulations, such as HIPAA, to protect patient records and other sensitive data.
Ensure your BI solution is secure and compliant with local and general industry regulations. Security best practices include implementing role-based access control, data encryption, and auditing tools, to name a few.
Many healthcare providers have legacy systems installed that aren’t compatible with modern BI software, obstructing and compromising data transfer.
The potential solutions to this issue can include: ​​building custom connectors, using APIs, or implementing middleware to facilitate data integration, as well as upgrading your healthcare IT ecosystem in general.
BI implementation cost and timeline
The cost and timeframe of adopting a business intelligence solution vary depending on several factors, such as the healthcare organization's size, data complexity, the number of users, and the features required. According to Capterra, the prices for BI software range from $600 to $6,000 per year. Therefore, it is best to ask vendors for a quote for your organization specifically.
Cost factors
- Software price
- Hardware and infrastructure upgrade costs
- Data migration costs
- Integration costs
- Training and consulting costs
- Maintenance costs
Timeline components
- Planning and research
- Development
- Data preparation and migration
- Implementation and setup
- Personnel training
- Ongoing maintenance and updates
Improve healthcare decision-making with business intelligence
Business intelligence has become the most effective tool for addressing key healthcare industry issues emerging from rising costs, changing regulations, and growing patient demand. However, to successfully adopt BI software, healthcare providers should invest in a solid implementation framework and long-lasting partnerships. Our team has over 15 years of experience implementing custom and platform-based BI solutions, some specifically created for healthcare organizations. We are ready to support you on the BI adoption journey, adhering to your company’s unique requirements, budget, and timeline.
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