Used in the 1980s by the consulting firm Gartner Group, the term Business Intelligence (BI) started to be used in a context that had not yet gone through the digital revolution. Given this, it referred to the technologies used at the time to collect and analyze data related to the company’s activities. Its purpose was to provide information to support decision-making.
The concept, however, has evolved over the years. Today, BI solutions not only capture and measure data to turn it into reports but are able to cross, store, contextualize, and analyze this data. In this way, they offer tools for simulation, evaluation, and forecasting, which contribute to the efficient management of organizations. Such tools help to transform raw data into useful information for broadly evaluating the business.
In the health area, the strategy is the same. The adoption of systems and solutions that gather diffuse data makes it possible to have an integrated panorama of the institution or health unit as a whole, so that management becomes more efficient.
BI tools allow institutions and health professionals to quickly and easily obtain comprehensive and detailed information, no matter the system of origin. In this way, business intelligence assists in the search and interpretation of information stored in real-time, which not only helps to support strategic decision-making, but is also useful for measuring productivity, control and management of organizations. They can analyze and cross-check clinical and administrative data and, thus, acquire greater knowledge and intelligence about their processes.
Advantages of BI in health
Health BI is of great help for the optimization of management. It includes the storage of the most diverse information linked to the institution and the creation of a comparative base – qualitative and quantitative – of the huge amount of data. Based on this, Business Intelligence software is able to process and analyze diverse perspectives, in addition to creating indicators and macro analysis by crossing information. This technology can direct tactical and strategic decision making in a much more assertive way, which impacts the quality of the institution’s management. Unlike management based on general perceptions of managers, BI in health brings people, information, and department’s closer together, providing strategic management indicators for many better-informed decisions.
However, it is necessary to keep in mind that a BI system needs to have access to reliable data and indicators. Therefore, before implementing a solution of this type and beginning to use this methodology in management, it is necessary to adopt systems that gather reliable information.
The advantages of Business Intelligence include cost reduction, intelligent data analysis, improved service quality, greater visibility, and transparency for the institution’s operations, and much more. Let’s have a look:
- Monitors data in real-time and remotely.
- Creates graphic indicators for each process, monitor its evolution, and define strategic actions.
- Risk analysis and accurate information tracking.
- Anticipates fault identification.
- Monitors the evolution of what happens in the hospital.
Conclusion
Business Intelligence is an added advantage to the hospital management solution that makes the decisions supported with numbers, brings a real identification of the reality, and allows predictive actions.