Author: Logan Masta
Data-driven decision-making is a growing approach for organizations in all industries. Nearly 60% of business leaders report using data analytics to drive business innovation, and companies that do see a 63% increase in productivity on average.
For your healthcare association, this means more than using data to engage with prospective members or refine learning experiences. Beyond your organization’s long-term strategy, you should also prioritize sharing the fundamentals of analytics with your members.
As value-based care models become increasingly widespread and healthcare continues to generate around 30% of the world’s data volume, equipping association members to utilize data is no longer optional — it’s essential to improving health systems’ workflows and patient outcomes. This article explores strategies for training healthcare professionals in data analysis.
Evaluate Data Literacy Levels Among Members
Members differ in their unique backgrounds and experiences outside your association. While some members may be experienced data analysts, others might be navigating data analytics for the first time.
To develop training opportunities that drive significant value for members, your association must first understand members’ data literacy levels. Data literacy refers to an individual’s familiarity with analyzing and applying data.
Your association should evaluate two key elements of members’ data literacy: their familiarity with data types and their ability to use data tools.
Data Types
The healthcare industry generates approximately 30% of the world’s data. However, it’s easy to miss critical insights and leave valuable data unused if your members are unsure of what types of data are important and the insights they can produce.
Assess members’ familiarity with different types of health data, including:
- Electronic health records (EHRs)
- Claims and billing data
- Clinical quality measures (CQMs)
- Social determinants of health (SDoH)
- Patient-generated data
- Performance benchmarks
Once you’ve determined members’ confidence with specific types of data, your association can ground its training in the information members use every day. For example, teaching members about the different domains of SDoH data can empower them to address these nonmedical factors in their own patient populations. As a result, your training strengthens members’ confidence in deriving insights that improve patient care.
Data Tools
Understanding data types builds the foundation to analyze information, but technology is the vector that makes analytics possible. Training members to use solutions that can aggregate, analyze, and report data is critical to help them implement analytics into their regular workflows.
To gauge members’ familiarity with data tools, ask the following questions:
- Are members familiar with various types of AI tools in healthcare?
- Do they understand how to track performance using dashboards and reporting platforms?
- Can members interpret data visualizations and translate them into actions?
- Are they aware of compliance and security considerations when handling sensitive health data?
- How well do members integrate external data sources (i.e., public health or payer datasets) into their analysis?
Healthcare data technology is always evolving, and keeping up with the latest innovations in industry tools positions your members to apply cutting-edge methods in their day-to-day work. Plus, it keeps your association’s offerings relevant, demonstrating the value of membership and enticing new members to join.
Design Use-Case-Driven Training Modules
Effective training is relevant and contextual. Draw a clear connection between the analytics tools and practices that your training covers and members’ daily workflows.
For example, Arcadia’s overview of healthcare data warehouses explains this technology’s real-life application with the example of delivering value-based care to patients with diabetes. In this case, a healthcare data warehouse can surface risk factors and trends to save administrative time, support disease management initiatives, and implement preventive care.
Use-case-driven training could cover how data analysis applies to:
- Care coordination: Teach members about how data can help them identify at-risk patients and streamline referrals.
- Care quality improvement: Show members how they can use analytics to track patient progress and satisfaction.
- Population health management: Incorporate predictive models into your training, which members can use to spot population-level trends.
- Financial management: Demonstrate how cost and utilization data can surface savings opportunities.
- Performance improvement: Explain how to compare to industry benchmarks and overall effectiveness to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Clinical decision making: Show members how to interact with data through chatbot-style conversational analytics tools, querying datasets in natural language and asking follow-up questions when necessary to derive evidence-based decisions.
Consider tiering training opportunities to align use cases with members’ data literacy levels. For example, a beginner in data analytics could benefit from tips on visualizing population health trends with dashboards, while a more advanced module might cover applying predictive analytics to forecast potential outcomes.
Highlight Technology and Data Partners
Smart organizations don’t just embrace current technology — they also share their insights and encourage a tech-driven culture among members. Data analytics companies can also provide strategic support as your association seeks to train members in effective data use.
Consider showcasing a leading analytics tool and providing hands-on opportunities for members to learn how to use the platform. Valuable learning opportunities may include:
- Interactive product demonstrations
- Guided walkthroughs of the platform led by subject matter experts
- Webinars, Q&A sessions, or other live meetings in which members can ask questions
- Scenario-based workshops that challenge members to apply the technology to a specific situation
- Peer-led sessions where experienced members share best practices they’ve discovered as they’ve used the solution
The best healthcare data analytics platforms offer role-based features for providers, payers, analysts, and various other teams across a health system. Tailor your association’s learning opportunities to members’ unique roles to give every member access to the most relevant technology to them.
Your association’s training opportunities should reflect current platform availability, technology trends, and evolving data best practices. Keep association members informed as new regulations, strategies, and other considerations emerge.
The more guidance you provide surrounding data analytics, the more value members will find in their involvement. Ultimately, your association’s commitment to relevant, comprehensive data analytics training will provide valuable learning experiences for members, a strong community for your association, and better outcomes for the populations your members serve.
