How Accurate Is Data-Driven Analytics in Telehealth Services
Within the last few years, the healthcare industry has changed in a number of profound ways. One of the most notable transformations in healthcare has been the normalization of telehealth services, which are now offered by most major providers of healthcare services. While on its own telehealth has had an extremely positive impact on the patient experience, making healthcare more accessible and affordable in some ways, some are now looking to new methods and strategies to make telehealth services even more effective.
Data-driven analytics is a resource that many organizations are using to bolster their telehealth offerings and provide patients with the best experiences possible. Though this seems to be an effective strategy, some question the reliability of data-driven analytics in the context of telehealth services.
This being the case, it can be useful to gain a deeper grasp of the ways that healthcare organizations are utilizing data to gain insights that inform their decision-making as it relates to telehealth services.
Here is an exploration of how accurate data-driven analytics is in telehealth services.
What Is Telehealth?
Before understanding how accurate data-driven analytics is in telehealth services, it’s important to have a clear understanding of what telehealth is. Put simply, telehealth can be described as healthcare services that patients receive through the media of electronic or telecommunication technologies. Examples of telehealth include refilling a prescription online, speaking with one’s physician over the phone, or having a video call with an x-ray technician.
Telehealth has made many healthcare services more accessible for a wide variety of individuals. This form of healthcare is extremely beneficial for those living in remote areas or those with busy schedules that make it difficult to commute to a medical facility in person.
Telehealth, along with other innovative forms of healthcare such as the utilization of mobile health clinics, is beginning to transform the patient experience and the ways that individuals interact with their healthcare providers.
What Is Data-Driven Analytics?
While data-driven analytics may seem like a complex concept at first glance, the ideas behind it are actually quite simple. Data-driven analytics simply refers to the process of gathering large sets of data, organizing data into usable sets, and analyzing the data to glean insights.
The insights gained from analyzing data can help organizations make informed decisions based on facts rather than mere guesses and assumptions. In the context of healthcare, data-driven decision-making for health administrators has proved to be an extremely effective strategy for making good decisions on a variety of topics.
How Data Informs Telehealth-Related Decisions
Given the fact that telehealth services are provided through electronic means, it makes it a perfect practice to record and utilize data. Healthcare organizations can easily measure data such as how long phone calls last along with how responsive patients are to email campaigns and other forms of outreach. In addition, healthcare organizations can utilize surveys to gain feedback from patients by asking them questions such as “Was your telehealth visit effective?” or “How can we improve your telehealth service experience?”
By taking all of this data into account and organizing it into easy-to-use sets, healthcare organizations can gain clarity around things they may be doing wrong and gain insights into ways that they can improve their telehealth services. This being the case, it makes sense that telehealth services and data-driven analytics go hand-in-hand when it comes to improving patients’ experiences of these services.
While some facets of healthcare services, such as which unrelated topics patients enjoy speaking with their nurses about, may be more difficult to acquire accurate data for, telehealth services have proven to be the opposite. Given the ease with which healthcare organizations can gather data about their patients and their experience with telehealth-related services, it seems that the data healthcare organizations utilize for data analysis are likely extremely reliable and accurate.
How Data-Driven Analytics in Telehealth Services Can Increase Patient Engagement
One of the main reasons that healthcare organizations utilize data to inform the telehealth services that they offer is to increase patient engagement. While healthcare organizations may want to roll out a number of new innovative practices, these attempts won’t be successful if patients aren’t willing to engage with these services.
Data makes it possible for healthcare organizations to increase patient engagement in a number of profound ways. One way that data makes this possible is by targeting specific types of patients for specific services and resources. For example, if a healthcare organization is offering a virtual Q and A for parents trying to help their children develop healthy habits, the organization can utilize data to reach out specifically to patients that are parents.
Another important way that data allows healthcare organizations to increase patient engagement is through collecting data on which telehealth services and resources patients utilize and enjoy the most. By analyzing data that shows this information, healthcare organizations can craft their telehealth services in ways that make patients more likely to engage.
Data Is Making Telehealth Services Superior
Telehealth services are making healthcare an easier realm for patients to navigate and engage with. By taking advantage of data-driven analytics, healthcare organizations are able to gain accurate insights into the preferences of their users and improve their telehealth services accordingly.
As time goes on, it seems likely that healthcare organizations will be able to continue to perfect their telehealth offerings and create engaging and effective services that provide patients with amazing experiences and exceptional care.
