Data visualization in the healthcare industry is no longer an option. It is a necessity for modern medical organizations in order to deliver high-quality service and stay competitive. The global market for healthcare data analytics is expected to grow 3.5 times in six years. It is anticipated to reach $40.8 billion by 2025. And data visualization is at the top of the driving forces that will make this happen.
Today’s healthcare systems collect and track gigabytes of information. Disease registers, EHRs/EMRs, hospital management systems, remote monitoring devices, billing and coding software — these are just some of the data sources. Along with this, healthcare organizations must deal with data from laboratories, diagnostic centers, pharmaceutical companies, and dozens, if not hundreds, of IoT devices within the hospital. However, access to massive amounts of data has no point if it cannot be processed properly.
How Does Data Visualization Work in Healthcare?
Modern tools for healthcare data visualization design convert complex data into user-friendly visuals that stakeholders can understand. A doctor, patient, or government officer will not have any problems with reading a diagram or a pie chart. This cannot be said about complex spreadsheets or tables. That’s why the following models are used instead.
Interactive Dashboards
Dashboards, which combine multiple interactive reports, are the most common visualization tool used by healthcare companies. They can be integrated into existing software alongside data analysis functionality or as part of reporting software tailored to the specific requirements of the organization. There are three major types of dashboards:
- Operational to display real-time data;
- Strategic to highlight trends and patterns over time;
- Analytical for more advanced insights.
Interactive Applications and Widgets
Users can interact with data in a variety of ways, including interactive maps, sites, and widgets. For example, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation provides an interactive website for analyzing death rates and leading causes around the world. You can toggle between maps and charts or select a specific country, age, or gender group.
Infographics and Motion Graphics
An infographic is a simple but effective tool for visualizing complex data in a format that the general public can understand. For example, a Johns Hopkins University infographic provides critical information about breast cancer. It highlights recent statistics and offers science-based recommendations on how to prevent the disease.
How Can Data Visualization Benefit Healthcare?
Our brain comprehends visual content better than text. That’s why data visualization tools can improve the presentation and bring the following benefits:
- Enhanced patient care — Visualization focuses attention on what is important, allowing medical staff to identify and respond to threats more quickly. By visualizing real-time data on patient health status, doctors can define and categorize patients based on the treatment and attention required. Including all patient records in a dashboard also helps practitioners avoid missing important information. For example, this may result in fewer drug intolerance incidents, thereby improving treatment efficiency.
- Trends and pattern recognition — Doctors can use data visualization software to estimate changes in patient health status and make better diagnoses. Gathering heart rate data from special fitness applications and wearable devices, for example, can identify potential risks before they arise.
- Accelerated performance — Unlike lengthy, manual reporting, real-time data visualization significantly accelerates information analysis, assisting healthcare organizations in reducing process inefficiencies, speeding up decision-making, and optimizing costs. Hospitals can improve their results by tracking and visualizing patient experience parameters such as feedback on communication with medical staff or wait time.
- Errors and fraud detection — The annual cost of abuse and fraud in Medicare alone ranges between $58.5 and $83.9 billion. Medical providers and patients both commit fraud schemes. Data visualization increases transparency in the relationships between patients, practitioners, providers, payers, and claims.
Of course, this is not a comprehensive list of all benefits. Nonetheless, it provides a better understanding of how data visualization benefits healthcare and why an increasing number of medical organizations are incorporating visualization tools into their practices.
Visualize Your Healthcare Data Effectively
Healthcare data visualization is critical for data analysis. It allows for faster interpretation and a deeper understanding of information, resulting in better decisions and quicker actions when needed. Data visualization is extremely important in healthcare. It helps companies improve care delivery and coordination, educate patients, and boost performance.
