Indian multi-specialty hospitals use data analytics and AI to reduce costs for patients
Elly Yates-Roberts |
The Indian chain of multi-specialty hospitals Narayana Health is using Microsoft technology, including data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) from Microsoft Azure, SQL Server and Power BI to provide high quality and high-tech healthcare at reduced costs.
In a recent article by Microsoft’s Rajat Agrawal, Narayana Health’s founder Devi Shetty discusses the benefits of using Microsoft technology in his hospitals.
“Cost reduction and improvement in delivery of quality services can only happen through technology. I believe that digital interventions such as advanced analytics, machine learning and AI are key to make healthcare safer, affordable, and accessible to the world’s population,” said Shetty.
“It took us about eight months to come up with a data warehouse architecture, automate the data flows, design meaningful KPIs and metrics, and build a comprehensive framework for analytics and decision making,” said Vivek Rajagopal, head of Business Analytics vice president of Narayana Health. “Once that was ready, implementing Power BI to gain real-time insights was very easy!”
The implementation of these technologies has created efficiencies, reduced costs and provided better patient care in ways the team at Narayana Health had not expected.
As a result, the staff at Narayana Health are able to make more informed decisions in a number of areas. For example, when setting up new hospitals, data informs staff of the number of required beds and the healthcare needs of the surrounding population. Staff are also able to predict the hospital’s blood requirements on any given day as data is available, ensuring optimal stocking of blood and its reduced waste.
“80% of the world population has no access to reliable and affordable healthcare,” said Shetty. “My goal is to ensure that everyone on this planet has access to high-tech healthcare, with dignity.”