The power of a shared enterprise-level BI solution can be seen via its capabilities for real-time dynamic reporting, better security and cost saving.

Regardless of their industry, organisations run more effectively and support growth through valuable, quality data. Whether it’s understanding customer data, patient data or receiving real-time, accurate reporting on KPIs, implementing enterprise-level BI solutions is an important step towards scaling operations and growth. 

Using our most recent case study NHS Trust Improves BI & Reporting Capabilities | Northdoor, the true impact and value of implementing an enterprise-level BI solution are clear. 

Understanding why an enterprise-level BI solution was required

Data is vital in running effective services at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospital, which provides general and acute healthcare services to about 500,000 people. Covid highlighted the need to better understand where each patient was on their journey through clinical pathways, and to improve demand modelling for hospital resources to ensure the best possible patient care and outcomes. 

Previously, the BI team extracted data from local systems into an old data warehouse and generated and published Microsoft Excel reports. This was a manual process with analysts spending more time manipulating data rather than driving insights from it. Reporting was also difficult to automate and standardise, increasing the risk of human error, and reports were emailed or saved to network drives, creating data security risks. 

Real-time, critical reports

Northdoor helped the Trust design and implement an enterprise-level Microsoft Power BI P1 Premium Service and develop a comprehensive set of BI reports, providing critical information to deliver safe, high-quality patient services most effectively. These reports covered multiple use cases, including access to services, departmental efficiency, waiting times and lists, clinical outcomes, managing RTT pathways, demand modelling, demand and capacity for diagnostic services, patient experience, and more. The reports are consumed by front-line staff, the Executive Team and Board, the people who commission the hospital services, and regulators such as the CQC and NHS Improvement and England.

The Power of an enterprise-level BI solution can be seen via its capabilities for real-time dynamic reporting, KPI monitoring and the financial benefit.

A prominent early success is the new emergency department (ED) report, which provides a near-real-time view of how many patients are in the ED, and how long they have waited for triage and treatment. This helps the Operational Team manage the ED services more effectively and assists the hospital site team in managing patient admissions and discharges.

Monitoring key performance indicators to support improved services

MTW also uses the Power BI P1 Premium Service to create statistical process control charts that show trends over time. This new way of looking at data helps reveal the bigger picture, supporting longer-term ambitions for service improvement. Power BI brings these charts to life with animated timelines, into which MTW can geographically plot attributes, such as patients and services. 

Thanks to a shorter time to insight, Operational Managers, Commissioners and Regulators can understand changing demand patterns faster than before. The new analytics capabilities support faster decision making about the optimal use of clinical resources, long-term capacity planning and the quality and care of patients. Improved decision-making driven by faster and deeper analytics will ultimately enhance patient services and reduce waiting times, driving better outcomes and higher satisfaction.

Easy-to-access data & insights

Power BI accelerates and improves access to data and analytics, empowering non-specialists to self-serve and drill into up-to-the-minute data for deeper insights. This frees analysts on the BI team from responding to user requests, enabling them to focus on more strategic analytical work.

Solutions with security and access management embedded

On the security front, the solution uses Power BI Data Gateway to securely transfer data from various data sources to the Power BI environment. It also applies rigorous controls to ensure that users only access the data and reports they are permitted to view. At the same time, the solution makes it possible to share information safely and securely with departments and partners across the local health system.

Northdoor designed the platform to maximise its extensibility to other local organisations outside of the Trust boundaries: it accepts a broad variety of data feeds into a dedicated secure cloud workspace for each participating organisation. Data can be selectively shared between these secured workspaces, reducing duplication of effort around report creation. 

A BI solution that makes financial sense

In addition to the benefits of sharing of the service, the solution provides strong financial benefits, with each organisation paying for an equal share of the overall service cost.

The result of implementing a first-class BI solution

The new BI solution has helped improve the provision of critical information to better support the management of hospital services and to provide assurance over the quality and safety of those services for patients. Some of the key benefits include:

·      Improved time to insight for Operational Managers, Trust Management, Commissioners and Regulators.

·      Improved collaboration with healthcare providers to share services, reduce costs and improve system working.

·      A business intelligence self-service culture with dynamic drill-down reporting capability.

·      Enhanced the security of report data and access to reports and dashboards.

·      Automated report production and standardisation of the look and feel of the reports and dashboards.

·      Reduced the time analysts spend manipulating and formatting data, rather than analysing and driving valuable insight from it.

·      Improved service delivery and patient outcome.

“We’re confident that we’ve already achieved a return on our investment, and it feels as though we’re still only scratching the surface of what we can achieve in healthcare analytics,” says James Jarvis, Assistant Director of Business Intelligence at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. “Northdoor has been a real accelerator of value: we would have struggled to achieve this level of benefits without that external support.” James James Assistant Director of Business Intelligence at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

Interested in finding out how your organisation could benefit from an enterprise-level BI solution? Email [email protected] or call 07833 291324