June 28, 2022 | Net Health

3 Minute Read

From Data to Actionable Insights: Create a Data-Driven SNF Rehab Therapy Team

In today’s world of big data, most of us want better access to the numbers that matter and which better align with our professional goals and objectives.

Whether you provide rehabilitation services within an outpatient setting or manage operations within the rehab therapy department of a skilled nursing facility (SNF), plenty of leaders these days understand the valuable role data can play in helping them make the best decisions for their businesses.

Make no mistake – simply understanding the power of data is a win for rehab therapy teams everywhere, including those in the SNF environment.

Unfortunately, though, that’s not enough.

For data to make a positive impact, it must drive meaningful action. This is where many operational leaders continue to fail.

According to a recent report by Forrester1, 74% of the businesses surveyed said they wanted to be more “data-driven.” Yet, it was discovered that just 29% of these businesses were actually successful at connecting analytics to action.

One of the reasons many may have failed to make this connection is they assume data, information and insight are all synonymous (they’re not) and that each is equally powerful in driving positive change (not true).

Understanding the differences between the three is a first step toward helping ensure the data you collect every day within your SNF rehab therapy department – through our EHR system and other digital tools – is processed, aggregated, organized and analyzed in a way that inspires action.

Data vs. Information

Consider your favorite musical instrument – say, a grand piano or a classic Stratocaster guitar. We all know it has potential for creating something great, memorable and even profound, yet for all intents and purposes, it’s still just an inanimate object.

That’s data in a nutshell.

Data is simply a collection of raw numbers and facts that we capture during the process of doing business. Ideally, the data you collect has some consistency in direction and the way it’s collected, yet on its own, it has little structure.

What it does have is great potential, however.

Process and organize your data in a way that’s more reader-friendly – say, in a spreadsheet, report, or graphs and charts – and you have information. When reviewed, information is typically easier to comprehend in the context of your business.

Information vs. Insight

Of course, picking up a musical instrument and mastering the scales isn’t the end goal of any would-be musician. And, editing data so it appears more organized and readable – and shareable – in a spreadsheet shouldn’t be the end goal of your data-driven efforts, either.

To truly become a data-driven rehab therapy department, the information and data must be regularly considered and analyzed in the context of your operations. It’s only then that you can formulate insights and draw conclusions based on said data.

And, in the proper context of the needs and goals of your organization, such conclusions lead to actions that can be applied within your rehab therapy department.

This is insight, and achieving insight is the key to making more strategic, well-information and actionable business decisions.

This, of course, applies to achieving insight through the use of Net Health® Business Intelligence within your SNF rehab therapy department.

SNF Rehab Therapy: From Data to Actionable Insight

As we’ve outlined here, turning your rehab therapy department into a more data-driven team is a journey that takes time, effort, structure, consistency, and a real commitment toward action.

For those making the effort, our team of business intelligence experts here at Net Health® recently delivered a free webinar that may help you take a significant step from data and information to insight and action.

Titled “Making Business Intelligence Actionable for SNF Therapy,” this webinar discusses how to turn the data we collect into not simply insights, but the right insights at the right time for your rehab therapy department.

It also discusses the value of business intelligence, specifically the highlights and features of our Net Health Business Intelligence solution for SNF rehab therapy.

To view this webinar for free, click over to our landing page for a slide deck and a full video of the presentation. And, if you’re interested in learning more about Business Intelligence for SNF rehab therapy, please contact us to schedule a demo.

Making Business Intelligence Actionable for SNF Therapy

Business intelligence dashboards are more than just a pretty picture.

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REFERENCES:
1 Forrester, “Think You Want to Be ‘Data-Driven’? Insight is the New Data,” March 6, 2016

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