Does Your Organization Make Use of Business Intelligence?
There is no denying that healthcare is a business in the United States. It may be a business with altruistic leanings, but it is a business, nonetheless.
That being the case, everyone from hospital administrators to private practice owners need to pay attention to the business aspects of what they do. In this day and age, doing so effectively requires making use of business intelligence.
How Companies Use Business Intelligence
Mental health management companies leverage business intelligence on behalf of their clients. Hospital groups rely on it to maintain a healthy bottom line. There is just no getting away from it. So how about your organization? Is business intelligence part of the day-to-day operational paradigm?
What It Is and Is Not
The starting point for so many healthcare organizations is defining what business intelligence is and is not. Business intelligence is a collection of tools, analytics and strategies that organizations deploy to make the best possible use of big data. Business intelligence is not the data itself. Data is the fuel that drives business intelligence in the same way that gasoline is the fuel that drives a car.
A lack of sufficient business intelligence leaves an organization with a ton of data and no way to leverage it. Therein is the trap of big data in healthcare. In mental health especially, not being able to utilize big data equals failing to leverage one of the most prolific digital resources ever built.
Data Rules the World
The need for comprehensive business intelligence is dictated by the simple reality that data rules the world. We constantly talk about things like data-driven solutions. We speak about how comprehensive mental health management begins with having the right data as a foundation. If not for data, modern healthcare would not be what it is.
As important as data is, failing to leverage it puts a facility behind the eight ball. It doesn’t matter whether that facility is a hospital, a mental health center, a rehab clinic or even a private practice. Failing to utilize business intelligence puts a facility at a clear disadvantage.
What Business Intelligence Accomplishes
Mental health consulting relies on business intelligence as its foundation. When leveraged properly, business intelligence can accomplish a lot. For example:
1. Business Intelligence Improves Financials
Business intelligence improves financials by facilitating better decisions through comprehensive data analysis. As a mental health management company, we have been honored to work with organizations that completely turned their financials around by employing business intelligence strategies.
These organizations made better use of their budgets. They had a more thorough understanding of how they were spending their money, where they were leaking resources, and where they were seeing the most value in terms of services provided.
2. Business Intelligence Improves Staffing
Business intelligence applied to human resources tends to improve staffing. By analyzing the right data, administrators can more easily identify staffing needs. Entry-level and middle managers can do a better job of scheduling to account for staff shortages. Even HR can do a better job of recruiting with a good understanding of applicable data.
3. Business Intelligence Improves Outcomes
Believe it or not, business intelligence even improves patient outcomes by giving facilities and providers a more in-depth understanding of what patients actually need. When those needs are met in the most appropriate and efficient way, outcomes improve.
Mental health management companies have very good reasons for recommending clients embrace business intelligence. We are no different. We see the benefits of applying business intelligence to healthcare. We are often surprised by the number of organizations still unwilling to embrace such a fundamental principle.