When people think about data analytics and data literacy, they often believe that these skills are only important in industries such as Banking, Manufacturing or Media. However, the healthcare industry is one of the biggest generators of data, contributing to 30% of the worlds data volume. Previously this was much harder to collect, but with the trend of wearables such as fitness trackers in watches and phones, more and more health data is available to to us. Many healthcare providers now implement tools such as Qlik, to help them visualize and make decisions based on this data.
In the past the healthcare industry would collect and use data to answer questions such as; what blood pressure is normal for a certain age group? at what age should someone start receiving a flu jab?. But we can now use healthcare analytics to dive even deeper into our health and to reduce cost of treatments, predict outbreaks of epidemics and avoid preventable disease. With people now living much longer lives, there are new challenges in terms of how we deliver healthcare so leveraging data to help solve these challenges is crucial.
One of the lessons learnt from the pandemic was that healthcare professionals need to be able to adapt to rapidly changing environments and leverage available data and tools, to make the right decisions. This applies to nurses in the A&E waiting rooms to consultants, to management teams making financial decisions for hospitals. Healthcare analytics is a skill all professionals can greatly benefit from. If you're a student studying on a healthcare related course, you can supplement your learning and start to upskill by signing up for the Qlik Academic Program. You can learn for free on software used by the NHS, so that you have the skills to thrive in the healthcare industry - qlik.com/academicprogram
