Looking Ahead: Analytics Move from Informational to Actionable

Rose Higgins
Rose Higgins

Guest post by Rose Higgins, president, North America, SCIO Health Analytics

Since they were first introduced, analytics have primarily been used to help healthcare organizations understand past events. In other words, they’ve been informational. That’s important, because as George Santayana is famously quoted as saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” But understanding what happened, or even why it happened, doesn’t necessarily tell you what actions to take to either avoid or improve upon the prior results.

In 2016, analytics will evolve to show us what will occur if we continue down the same path (predictive), as well as the possible outcomes of several different alternatives (prescriptive), helping healthcare organizations make better decisions.

Here are a few ways the evolution of analytics will manifest itself in the coming year.

Analytics hold the key to solving many of the challenges facing the healthcare industry in the coming years – especially those related to reducing the skyrocketing costs and keeping populations healthier.

In 2016, the groundwork that has been laid previously will pay off, as organizations use analytics not just to show them where they’ve been, but where they should be headed.


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