By April Miller, Senior Writer, ReHack.com
LinkedIn:Â April Miller
X:Â @rehackmagazine
More than ever, patients are taking an active role in their own health care. Empowering individuals to make important, informed decisions about their well-being is an essential part of health care consumerism.
Predictive analytics enables hospitals and other providers to take patient care to the next level. Learn more about how the latest statistical models and data are driving health care consumerism toward the future.
1. Personalized Patient Experience
Predictive analytics allows providers to get a unique, comprehensive look at a patient’s health in the past, the present and even the future. Predicting potential risks and complications can make all the difference for any patient. Physicians who have all the relevant data at their fingertips can offer better care for every individual.
Health care consumerism is on the rise. No one has a bigger stake in someone’s physical and mental health than the patient themselves, so it’s clear why so many people are taking a more active interest in their care. Everyone benefits when providers have all the information they need to create custom plans for each patient.
2. Customized Health Care Recommendations
Predictive analytics use a wide range of sources in the health care industry, from patient records to medical histories to demographic data, to inform doctors, nurses and other professionals.
Specific patient information and broad demographic data enable health care providers to make personalized recommendations. Whether it’s proactive care to help at-risk patients avoid future complications or ongoing treatment for a chronic condition, customized recommendations make a difference in results.
3. Identifying At-Risk Patients
The greatest threat to an individual’s health is often what they can’t see coming. Fortunately, predictive analytics makes it easier than ever to look at a patient’s file and prepare for the future.
For example, an individual’s personal and family history, alongside demographic trends, might increase their risk of diabetes or a rare cancer. Physicians can study the warning signs and provide preventive care recommendations ahead of time.
4. Staying up to Date With the Latest Technology
Everyone in health care knows technology is an increasingly important part of the industry. Hospitals and other facilities rely on digital systems, including patient portals, scheduling, and internal and external communications, to carry out everyday responsibilities.
Predictive analytics require up-to-date technological systems. Analytics often use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning networks to gather, store and draw conclusions from data. If a health care provider prioritizes predictive analytics, maintaining safe and robust technology networks will follow naturally — and benefit all other processes along the way.
5. Lower Costs
The price of medical treatment is a contentious and often confusing aspect of the industry. The U.S. has some of the highest health care costs in the world, reaching $4.3 trillion in 2021. While the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted medical expenditures, health care prices have been rising for decades — increasing from just 5% of the national GDP in 1960 to almost 20% in 2021.
That’s where predictive analytics comes in. Health care consumerism is all about the individual — which includes their pocketbooks. Using data to predict health-related outcomes allows physicians and patients to make better decisions rather than wasting time and resources on vague or unnecessary tests and procedures.
6. Resource Optimization
In addition to cost savings, predictive analytics help optimize health care resources and ensure more efficient processes. Advanced analytics allow hospitals and other facilities to direct more resources toward early detection and targeted interventions.
Predictive analytics can also recommend internal processes at a hospital or other health care facility. It can help facilities efficiently manage their equipment, inventory and operations to cut costs where possible.
7. Mitigating Financial Risks
Predictive analysis allows health care providers and patients to make smarter decisions. In the past, missed risk factors and late diagnoses meant medical bills piled up quickly. Individuals might end up paying for unnecessary tests and treatments.
More advanced diagnostics, thanks to predictive analytics, give health care professionals and consumers more confidence in their financial decisions. Greater transparency provides patients with a better understanding of how much a course of treatment may cost. Analytics are meant to optimize the process, ensuring fewer monetary risks for people and organizations already running on tight budgets.
8. Improved Outcomes for Patients and Providers
Predictive analytics offers the best of both worlds for patients and health care providers alike. Individuals are more likely to get accurate results and effective treatment, while hospitals and doctors streamline their processes to offer fast and personalized care. It’s a win for everyone.
Leveraging the Benefits of Predictive Analytics for Health Care Consumerism
Predictive analytics unlocks a world of potential for the health care industry, especially as it drives toward consumerism. The technology is there, and people need to take advantage of it. From improved health outcomes to fewer financial risks, the opportunity is nearly endless and benefits providers and patients alike.