Hitting a home run with Business Intelligence and Analytics

I’m a sports fan. Yep. No doubt about it. Spring means not only hay fever, but baseball fever. I love to see a good solid swing and to feel the excitement of watching the gravity-defying flight of the ball as it soars over the outfield fence and into the bleachers. There’s nothing like a home run! Unlike baseball, however, the game of Long Term Care is not seasonal and if providers want a sporting chance, they’re going to have to step up to the plate and respond swiftly and powerfully to the curve balls of regulatory changes, the sliders of reimbursement, the change-ups of market pressures, and the fast balls of competition year around. It means split-second decision-making and lightning-fast responses. More to the point, providers must interpret real-time data, employ sound decision-making best practices, and implement solutions. The key? Business Intelligence (BI) and Analytics.

I’ve done some research on the topic of problem solving and Business Intelligence. During my search through the slurry of blogs, articles, and advertisements, I discovered a real nugget I want to share with you. In a blog published in Visual Business Intelligence, posted by Stephen Few points out that today’s problems are not “the result of missing or hidden information, but the result, in a sense, of too much information and the complicated challenge of understanding it.” Amen to that. Look at the plethora of data available through the MDS, for example, and the information it yields. What about the data demands providers will face when they have to play in the big leagues of ACOs (Accountable Care Organizations)? Clinical, operational, financial, market demands, regulatory data will all need to be assimilated, retrieved, interpreted correctly, acted on, and represented.

Mr. Few argues that “we don’t need more data, we need the means to make sense of what we have.” This requires “data sense-making tools that are needed to put data to use for decision-making.”

I agree with Mr. Few that “the pieces have finally come together that are needed to cross the threshold from the Information Age, which has produced great mounds of mostly unused information, to the Analytics Age, when we’ll finally learn how to understand it and use it to make better informed, evidence-based decisions.” To paraphrase, LTC providers must be investigators at heart with minds that are flexible and analytical. We must be critical thinkers.

With the aid of “data sense-making” digital dashboards which display such Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as census, labor, collections, MDS, procurement, admissions/discharges, among others in real time, providers can discover “faults in (their) organization’s policies, practices, or assumptions.”

Armed with such analytics tools, providers can hit the home runs which will not only increase revenues and save money, but provide resident/patient quality of life.

Next time, I’ll share how one operator of multiple facilities in several states has leveraged analytics to score big. How’s that for a “pitch?” 

Introduction

“Oh, please! What does a man know about labor pains?” Yes, absolutely nothing, no matter how much empathy a man like me may have. But that is obviously NOT the “labor pains” implied in this blog’s title. The labor pains I am referring to apply to such agonies as overtime, being expensively above or dangerously below the daily labor budget, staffing with and paying for contract labor, such as pool or registry nurses, and any other discomforts that are related to the day-to-day staffing and operations of a long term care facility. How can providers leverage Business Intelligence (BI) to help relieve them of their “labor pains?” Let me suggest five ways.

Solution

1. Have the right tools

In today’s demanding environment of downward reimbursement pressures, increased regulatory scrutiny, and competition within the clinically-skilled labor market, having the right automated Applicant Tracking, Time & Attendance, Payroll, and Human Resources software applications is almost a necessity. Companies, such as Kronos, among others, offer innovative and easy-to-use integrated labor management packages, hardware, project management, and training to help you effectively manage your workforce.

2. Be able to input data efficiently and accurately

While time clocks have been the tried and true method for recording employee time transactions, today’s technology offers increased accuracy and accountability. These include badge and biometric terminals, telephone time entry solutions (TTE), and handheld devices which give you access to your employees no matter where they are at any time. These devices deliver direct data feeds to your time and attendance applications automatically and securely.

3. Be able to gather data intelligently

With the right software combined with the right employee time collection devices, you have the system to gather, process, house, and distribute data that not only help you with payroll, but also with Business Intelligence. The right tools will help you plan for and obtain useful information. Going beyond the traditional end-of-pay-period reports to real-time, as-it-happens information requires thorough planning and preparation. A data collection plan will help you prepare for the processing of and publication of useful information.

4. Be able to convert data into actionable information

This is where the proverbial rubber meets the road for Business Intelligence and Analytics. According to a CIO.com article entitled, Business Intelligence Definition and Solutions, “Business intelligence, or BI, is an umbrella term that refers to a variety of software applications used to analyze an organization’s raw data. BI as a discipline is made up of several related activities, including data mining, online analytical processing, querying and reporting.” The key benefit to BI is that managers and executives can monitor KPIs in real time. Where do you start? Analyze how your team makes decisions and the information needed to make and implement the best decisions possible. The decision-making discussion will drive how you structure BI. For example, one of the main advantages to BI is that it offers context. With BI you not only can discern right now what is going on, but BI can also offer budgetary, historical, and projected performance context. Trending is a valuable influencer in the decision-making process. These and other considerations can help you build a data warehouse with the flexibility to meet today’s demands and tomorrow’s possibilities.

5. Be able to communicate information

BI does not readily make your company a better one, just better informed. The key to BI being truly effective is getting the information readily to those who need it at the operational level to improve business practices. But that may require a major re-think about the sharing of information, a fundamental business practice paradigm. While good BI tools are scalable, the actual realization of the power of information must be decided at a very human level across the entire organization. Start with understanding your key business processes and determine the “who-needs-to-know” and accountability parameters.

Conclusion

Ultimately, once you start down the “BI-way” of information collection and dissemination, there’s no looking back. BI not only informs businesses, it transforms them. In what shape that transformation finds itself depends on the skills and strengths your team players.

In summary:

• Employ the labor management tools that are right for your organization.
• Be able to input data efficiently and accurately using today’s employee time-tracking technologies, such as badge and biometric terminals, TTE, and handheld devices.
• Gather data intelligently starting with a workable data collection plan.
• Convert data into actionable information, including consideration for how your team makes decisions and the informational context that BI offers.
• Communicate the information to the operational level of your organization.

For more information about PCT’s hosted Labor Management solution, click here.

Overview In our previous blog, “Discover the Wealth in Business Intelligence through Data Mining,” we discussed how data mining is indispensible in helping today's executive discover hidden patterns of vital Business Intelligence (BI). With BI, LTC executives have been able to view their organizations’ financial, operational, and marketing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in real time. BI viewed through digital dashboards delivers the granularity, flexibility, and responsiveness executives need. Given the layers of information, or analytics, that is available through BI, managers can readily peer into their organization’s performance. Jim Hoey, President of Prime Care Technologies, recently reported, “Many of the executives I visit with understand the value that such a system can offer and have even taken advantage of its availability.”

Like an onion, however, the more you peel back the informational layers, the more it may bring you to tears. Whether they are tears of joy or frustration depends on what you do with the information.

How does a BI Dashboard work?

Let’s share with you what a dashboard looks like and has done for others. You arrive at your office and log on to your computer. You then click on the dashboard icon on your desktop. After logging in using your desktop, laptop, tablet PC, a thin client, or even an iPad, the digital dashboard displays KPIs which are important to you from a corporate, division, region, or facility standpoint, depending on your security permissions. For LTC providers, these may include vital labor information (especially nursing services), census information, collections, cash summary and details, accounts receivable, RUGs, reports concerning facility risk, a MDS & QM/QI risk focus, corporate/chain survey risks, risk management/loss control, and customized risk analysis, among other KPIs.

The dashboard even cues you automatically regarding which factors should be of greatest concern and where your specific weak spots are at that moment. You have the capability of viewing the cumulative opportunities and risks for your company in the format you prefer – charts, graphs, or tables. You also have the ability to drill down to a corporate and facility level – even to a department or specific employee. You can get as granular as your data and policies allow. And because the information is in real time[1], it reflects what is happening now, based on how often you want the data refreshed. The system will even send real-time alerts when certain KPI’s exceed or drop below specified tolerances.

What’s the impact?

The following are real-world examples of those who have experienced tears of joy: one CEO reported his 22-facility company, a PCT customer, has benefitted from the labor report portion of the dashboard. Because the information is timely and available anytime from anywhere, his team was able to view and respond quickly to labor trends that were unsustainable and wasteful. “Because of our dashboard, we have saved over $80,000 per month in unnecessary labor costs,” he reported. “There is a direct correlation between the dashboard and the savings realized.” In another case, a CEO stated that the MDS feature added an average of $6,500 for the first month to the bottom line of each of his 50-plus facilities with a sustained average improvement of $1,500 per month for each facility thereafter.

The critical key to leveraging BI is whether the information presented in the dashboard is timely, readily interpretable, and actionable. But even if the BI meets those criteria, it still comes down to the most important factor, even for technology – people. People interpret the information, communicate, delegate, make decisions, plan, take action, and follow up. That’s the where real power of business intelligence resides. 

In summary:

• Business Intelligence (BI)/analytics delivers the granularity, flexibility, and responsiveness executives need.
• The BI dashboard displays graphs, charts, and tables with actionable information that can help executives at all levels effectively discover and analyze KPIs that are critical to their business.
• BI is where technology and people come together with a potentially powerful and positive impact to the quality of services delivered and the bottom line realized.

As far as decision makers are concerned, information technology’s real value is to be found in the information that the technology yields –information that is relevant, accessible, and actionable. Historically, managers have had to extract and recompile data manually and then make sense of the data, convert it into useful information, and ultimately take action – often a laborious and tedious process.

It was almost like staring at one of those autostereograms so popular in the 1990’s. These pictures contained innumerable dots and patterns of color. And if you stared long enough and REALLY concentrated, you could eventually see a larger 3-D image that made sense. (http://www-ai.ijs.si/sirds/horse.jpg) Fortunately, today’s data mining technologies can automatically extract, compile, transform, and present pixels of data into useful information. It’s called Business Intelligence (BI). With BI, decision makers can see a larger, simplified picture of their operations yet give them the ability to drill down to the core of the opportunity or problem.

Data mining lets executives delve as deeply as the available data allows for the BI they need; and not only data existing within their own data libraries, but also available data which resides in others. BI can be an extremely vital source of useful financial, operational, and marketing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

A common requirement of BI is digital dashboards which can display KPIs in real time; as soon as the data is available, the dashboard is updated. Some times referred to as EIS (Executive Information Systems), real-time dashboards offer granularity - a view into the operation from the corporate “30,000-foot” level down to the individual employee or customer. For example, granularity lets health care providers view trends in care at a corporate level with the ability to drill down to a specific patient or resident.

Flexibility and responsiveness are also critical components of effective dashboards. Executives can select how they view the information using charts, graphs, and tables. Also, dashboards can generate real-time automated alerts via email or texting when specified KPIs exceed or descend below acceptable performance thresholds. Ultimately, BI enables managers to respond effectively to emerging performance trends as well as regulatory and competitive pressures. 

The process of data mining can readily uncover hidden patterns of Business Intelligence (BI). But how many ways can you slice and dice the data? The answer is, “Any way you choose.” But data mining can be like peeling an onion - the more you peel, the more it may bring you to tears. Whether they are tears of joy or sorrow will depend on what you do with the information. And that’s another story we’ll share with you next time. 

In summary:

• Data mining is indispensible in helping today's decision makers discover hidden patterns of vital BI.
• In real time, executives can view their financial, operational, and marketing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Dashboards give managers granularity, flexibility, and responsiveness.

If you access the Internet or receive email, you're computer will be subject to electronic infection. Left unchecked and uncorrected the damage these electronic infections inflict can be devastating. But what are these electronic infections? What can they do and how are they propagated? The three main categories of electronic infections are viruses, worms and Trojan horses.

A virus is a small piece of software that piggybacks onto real programs. For example, a virus might attach itself to a spreadsheet program. Each time the program runs, the virus reproduces itself (by attaching to other programs) or wreaks havoc directly. Once it is running, it can infect and spread to other programs or documents.

Most viruses also have some sort of destructive attack phase. A trigger will activate this phase and the virus will "do something," ranging from printing a silly message on the screen to erasing all of your data. The trigger might be a specific date or the number of times the virus has been replicated.

A worm is a computer program that has the ability to copy itself from machine to machine through computer networks. To infect a machine, a worm usually exploits some sort of security hole in software or the operating system.  Each time a worm finds an unsecured server or PC, the worm will copy itself to that server or PC. The new copy then scans for other servers or PCs to infect. Depending on the number of unsecured servers, a worm could conceivably create hundreds of thousands or even millions of copies in very little time.

Worms cause damage by using up computer time and network bandwidth when they are replicating. One such worm was called the Slammer worm. It essentially ground the entire Internet to a halt by sending out millions upon millions of packets of meaningless information which jammed critical Internet servers causing corporate email systems to crash and various web sites to become unresponsive. Other times a worm may replace web pages or generate excess traffic to a particular web site in order to overwhelm it. 

A Trojan horse is a computer program, which, as the name implies, claims to do one thing such as a game, but instead does damage when you run it (i.e. erasing your hard disk). Trojan horses are almost always designed to do harmful things, such as erasing or overwriting data, corrupting files in a subtle way, setting up networks of zombie computers in order to launch DDoS attacks or send spam, spying on the user of a computer, logging keystrokes to steal passwords and credit card numbers, "phishing" for bank or other account details, or installing a backdoor on a computer system to enable unauthorized access by hackers. Trojan horses get around through email, web sites, other infected programs, or through open ports on the network.