Data in healthcare brings hope for the future

Episode summary

It’s been a very challenging time for Jannie over the past few months as Group General Manager of Data Science and Information Management at Mediclinic. COVID-19 has accelerated the way data is used and everything has become increasingly real time. Businesses want to know, based on what happened yesterday, what’s going to happen tomorrow. There is a big challenge to maintain the pace and generate the correct insights to keep up with business demand.

Mediclinic comprises a very talented and skilled team that source data, and an equally skilled team that derives value from that data. In order for the business as a whole to reap the rewards of this data, it is critical to combine two entities effectively and interactively to deliver analytics. This is why analysts must not be kept in a back-office space, they must be brought to the table. For professionals who don’t understand much about data and its potential, data analysts have various tools at their exposure such as data visualisation, which allows them to take complex data and translate it into a meaningful story to share within the organisation. When executives are able to see these things in context, they become more knowledgeable about what tools are at hand and what they are capable of doing. On the other hand, it’s also very important for analysts to understand the environment that healthcare practitioners are operating in, this combination allows both parties to properly understand the business problem and pull the relevant analytics.

When it comes to face-to-face patient interaction, it’s very important not to lose the personal touch. However, the tools and technology now available can augment this process by assisting practitioners by identifying things that may have been missed. Combining structured, unstructured and external data to positively impact the treatment and outcome of patients, is Jannie and the team’s dream for the future.