Define and illustrate the applicability of and need to engage use of small data.
Learning objectives
Section 1: Business Intelligence for the Healthcare Industry
• Define the phenomenon big data.
• Define and illustrate the applicability of and need to engage use of small data.
Section 2: Healthcare Services Delivery Components
• Recognize the internal components of healthcare service delivery.
Section 3: The Broader Healthcare Delivery Environment
• Recognize the key external influencers of the healthcare delivery environment.
Section 4: Health Services Across the Health Continuum
• Identify the three areas where misalignment between hospital components and healthcare
users may occur.
• Identify the services performed at various points on the health continuum.
Section 5: Healthcare Service Delivery and Component Independence
• Recognize what strongly influences medical care decisions in regards to supply-sensitive care.
Section 6: Reform and Change in Healthcare Delivery
• Identify foundational drivers for change that are taking place in the industry.
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Section 7: HIPAA and HITECH
• Define the terms HIPAA and HITECH.
Key points to remember:
Big data is understanding and using combinations of large data sets, both clinical and non-clinical, which
are generated by healthcare industry organizations in the course of doing business. The definition of big
data is the same in the non-healthcare industry, such as retail, communications, media, socio-
demographic and education, etc. We are coming to know this phenomenon as big data.
The internal components of healthcare service delivery system are identified on the following graphic.
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Key external influencers of the healthcare delivery environment include the following:
• Economic factors: General economy, consumer sentiments and demand elasticity, economic
development
• Social values: Diversity, social cohesion, established precedents for actions, religious preferences
• Global influences: Immigration, vacation travel, medical tourism, epidemics, terrorism, demands
for equity in medication distribution
• Population characteristics: Population demographics, socio-economics, morbidity related to
ethnic and gender groups, social morbidity
• Political climate: Elected officials, interest groups
• Technology development: Engineering sciences, information science, decision management,
mathematics
• Physical environment: Pollution, sanitation
• Demand elasticity: Market liquidity
There are three areas where a misalignment between hospital components and healthcare users may
occur:
• Lack of coordination
• Healthcare users on their own
• Service coordination
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Consumer Health Conditions:
Medical services provided on the continuum of care are identified on the graphic below.
In the case of supply-sensitive care, according to Wennberg et al. “Decisions surrounding medical
necessity are strongly influenced by capacity, rather than medical evidence or severity of illness.”
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The foundational drivers of change within the healthcare services delivery system include the following:
• Transparency
• Understanding costs
• Community-based services
• IHI Triple Aim
