Healthcare professionals struggling with data influx: Study

Healthcare professionals struggling with data influx: Study

Just 12 per cent of healthcare professionals across Australia, and an average of 15 per cent of healthcare professionals around the world are fully confident in their ability to read, work, analyse and argue with data, according to research study commissioned by data analytics firm, Qlik.

The majority (90 per cent) of healthcare professionals globally agree that data not only helps them do their job better, but 70 per cent also feel that having a better data literacy level would enhance their credibility.

Interestingly, more than half (60 per cent) state that they are having to deal with more data now than they did three years ago, and a third (34 per cent) admit to feeling overwhelmed when reading, working with, analysing or challenging data in their current role.

This research forms part of a global Qlik data literacy initiative calling for every individual and organisation, to have the same opportunity to use, access and succeed with data.

“The healthcare sector has a lot to gain from putting data at the heart of its operations,” said Charlie Farah, Director, Healthcare & Public Sector, APAC at Qlik.

He said hospitals and healthcare institutes are sitting on a wealth of data that has typically been underutilised, which can ultimately have a knock-on effect to patient care or system sustainability.

“It is up to healthcare leaders to build employees’ confidence to manage and use this data, regardless if they are in the head office, or on the clinic floor, in a meaningful way so that it can be the basis for more informed decision-making.”

The Health Care and Social Assistance industry is the largest and fastest growing industry in Australia. It employs over 1.5 million people, making it all the more important that its professionals become adept at analysing data.

Farah said, “Healthcare professionals are natural analysts, they’re assessing symptoms to diagnose patients, making sense of the information and prescribing treatments. By improving their data literacy, they’ll be able to analyse not just physical symptoms but also other data sources, such as local and national patient activity and treatment databases; which enables them to make stronger decisions based not just on experience and medical training, but on real-world patient outcomes.”

Data literacy

The importance of data literacy has not gone unnoticed by employees in the sector, with more than half (62 per cent) stating that they would be willing to invest more time and energy into improving their data skillset. Currently, only 16 per cent of global healthcare professionals agree they have had adequate training to be able to read, work, analyse and argue with data.

In addition, 80 per cent feel they do not have access to all the data sets they need to perform their job role to the highest possible standard with 41 per cent admitting to frequently making decisions on gut feel over informed insight. When asked what best describes their thoughts on their organisations culture regarding data, just 18 per cent of respondents agreed that everyone in their business is empowered and proficient in using data.

Despite the challenges in driving a data-driven culture, many healthcare organisations within the region have done so successfully.

Sharing how she drove data literacy internally, Dr Teresa Anderson, Chief Executive, Sydney Local Health District said, “Our approach is to put data at the forefront of everything we do, both decisions and meetings are data driven. To enable this we have given our employees access and the motivation to look at, analyse and understand data and what it means in the context of their service and the wider District.

“We are building the skills and abilities within the organisation – including our corporate support staff, nurses, doctors and analysts – so that our staff are interested and comfortable with debating and working with data,” Anderson said.

“The majority of healthcare professionals want to develop their skills further and learn how to interpret data as part of their role,” according to Farah.

“There is a strong need for organisations to train their employees so that they are comfortable with analysing and interpreting data. By giving healthcare professionals the training, it’s likely that we’ll see a drastic increase in the amount of decisions being made on the back of medical expertise and experience, as well as data analytics – which instils much more confidence and credibility into the healthcare industry.”

(Source: Which 50)