Data analytics is top of mind for CIOs, IT directors, and other tech stakeholders in healthcare, according to the findings of a recent survey.
The survey was conducted by Stoltenberg Consulting, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based consulting firm, at the 2015 Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference held recently in Chicago. The firm surveyed more than 150 project managers, CIOs, IT directors, and consultants. The majority of respondents (41 percent) said that data analytics and business intelligence as the biggest topic in health IT for 2015. Health information exchange (26 percent) and mobile health (21 percent) were the next two most popular answers.
Despite this, 84 percent have questions around the type, quantity, and how to use their healthcare data. Thirty-three percent said organizations don't know what to look for when collecting and analyzing data.
“Organizations feel they need to jump on the big data bandwagon, yet they approach this emerging issue reactively versus proactively,” Shane Pilcher, vice president of Stoltenberg Consulting, said in a statement. “Healthcare IT leaders should instead focus on collecting smart healthcare data, monitoring what data they’re saving and concentrating on the quality, quantify and validity of data needed to answer future questions for organizations.”
