5% of the Population Accounts for 50% of Medical Expenses - How can data help?
Within the healthcare sector, two significant fundamental issues exist. The first problem revolves around costs, which has been a topic of discussion for decades. However, the cost problem is not evenly distributed across the entire population. Rather, approximately five percent of the population accounts for a substantial 45 to 50 percent of the medical expenses, while around 15 percent of the population incurs 75 to 80 percent of the medical costs.
SnapLogic , an Intelligent Integration Platform (iPaaS), working together with Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud services can play an instrumental role in addressing this cost problem. They provide the necessary tools and infrastructure to integrate disparate data sources from various healthcare systems, insurance providers, and other relevant parties. The result is a comprehensive and holistic view of each patient's health status and history, enabling healthcare organizations to identify and manage these "super-utilizers" more effectively. Further, AWS's robust cloud computing capabilities offer scalability and processing power to manage and analyze these large datasets, which is critical in predicting future healthcare utilization trends and making data-driven decisions.
The second problem is the existence of significant disparities in healthcare delivery and subsequent outcomes based on geographic locations, specifically evident in different zip codes across America. For instance, using data from the RWJF , we observe a significant difference in average life expectancy within the city of New Orleans. In one zip code, the average life expectancy is 57 years old, while just three miles away in another zip code in the same city, it rises to 83 years old, resulting in a 26-year difference.
SnapLogic and AWS can help address this problem too. They can facilitate the integration and analysis of social determinants of health (SDOH), including geographic location, education level, access to food, physical safety, and more. Combining healthcare information with demographic, economic, and social data can uncover patterns and trends that contribute to health inequities. AWS's advanced data warehousing solutions, coupled with SnapLogic's efficient data integration, can allow healthcare organizations to make more informed and equitable decisions in their service delivery.
A substantial part of this solution lies in the analysis of SDOH data, particularly in identifying "super-utilizers" who frequently visit emergency departments for complex health issues. AWS provides the data processing capabilities to handle large volumes of patient data, while SnapLogic ensures this data is properly integrated, irrespective of its source. This tandem allows for a thorough understanding of utilization patterns, identifying areas for potential intervention, and opportunities for cost reduction.
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Primary care Physician-led organizations are helping to lead the charge with a proactive, holistic, and clinical model that focuses on lifestyle, behavioral, and social determinants of health, rather than only treating diagnoses with medications, procedures, and referrals. In this model, data integration and analysis provided by SnapLogic and AWS can play a vital role.
SnapLogic, working with AWS, can also enhance remote patient monitoring capabilities. For instance, weight tracking is a crucial part of disease management for heart failure patients. With SnapLogic's integration capabilities and AWS's data management tools, weight tracking data can be effectively integrated with electronic health records. Healthcare providers can thereby promptly respond to dangerous weight fluctuations, potentially preventing emergencies and rehospitalizations, and significantly reducing hospitalization costs.
A strategic integration of SnapLogic and AWS can add substantial value to the healthcare sector by facilitating comprehensive and real-time patient data analysis. This partnership aids in addressing the pressing issues of cost distribution and healthcare disparities while promoting a proactive, data-driven approach to healthcare that can result in improved patient outcomes and significant cost savings.
MBA, Engineer | Enterprise AI | Advanced Analytics | Third-Gen Cloud Data Platform with Governed and Secure Generative AI | World's First Arbor Essbase Post-Sales Consultant
10moThank you for sharing Praneal!
Adjunct Faculty at Salem University
1yThank you for that post. The professional community does need to focus on this issue, costs have spiraled out of control and customer satisfaction is low with repetitive requests for personal information at each and every healthcare facility.