Healthcare sector dives into data and predictive analytics

The latest Future Health Index (FHI) report from Philips suggests that Australian healthcare leaders are focused on data and predictive technologies in a bid to solve the sector’s biggest challenges.

The Australian FHI 2022 report, Healthcare hits reset: Priorities shift as healthcare leaders navigate a changed world, comprises data delivered from a survey of 3000 respondents across 15 countries, including Australia. Now in its seventh year, the publication explores how healthcare leaders are harnessing the power of data and digital technology as they look to address their key challenges coming out of the pandemic.

Despite having faith in the insights delivered by data, industry leaders face barriers to its effective utilisation.

“The results of the 2022 report continue to show that Australian healthcare leaders believe digital technologies can solve some of the most pressing issues currently challenging our health system. Leaders across the Australian health sector need to collaborate and find ways to address these persistent barriers to make real progress with their priorities,” said Matt Moran, Managing Director of Philips Australia & New Zealand.

Overcoming the barriers crucial to widespread adoption

Australian healthcare leaders are data confident but say gaps in talent and technology infrastructure are impeding their ability to fully unlock the power of data.

Although 78% say their healthcare facility can extract actionable insights from their available data, 74% of healthcare leaders are frustrated by data silos that continue to hinder their organisation’s ability to utilise data effectively.

The pandemic has pushed the sector to the edge and healthcare practitioners are experiencing high degrees of burnout. 77% of healthcare leaders say their staff are overwhelmed by the volume of data available. Together with skills gaps and overall workforce shortages, one in four (27%) of healthcare leaders are prioritising staff satisfaction and retention as a key priority.

As they seek solutions to these perennial issues, 42% of Australian healthcare leaders agree the availability of data specialists would support them in using data more effectively, which is almost twice as high as the global average of 24%.

The potential for predictive analytics

More than half (55%) of Australian healthcare leaders say they have adopted, or are currently in the process of adopting, predictive analytics. A vast majority of healthcare leaders believe this technology can positively impact a wide range of areas, such as health outcomes, patient experience, population health management and cost of care.

Sixty nine per cent of Australian healthcare leaders say they are using predictive analytics in operational settings and 68% say they are using it in clinical settings. Despite having high levels of trust in both areas, Australian leaders are more likely than the global average to want transparency, data security regulations and success stories about predictive analytics in clinical settings.

For details on the Future Health Index methodology and to access the Future Health Index 2022 report in its entirety, click here.

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