Customer Story

Healthcare Org Gets Modern Data Strategy to Standardize Data Ingestion Using HL7 and FHIR Protocols

What we did

Developed a healthcare-specific data strategy to modernize architecture, standardize data ingestion using the HL7® FHIR® standard, and enhance governance for scalability and compliance.

Delivered a roadmap that prioritizes data analytics use cases and outlines the path to real-time data insights and self-service analytics.

Industry

  • Healthcare

Technologies

  • Azure
  • ·
  • Databricks
  • ·
  • Power BI

The Problem

A leading healthcare organization faced challenges in managing and utilizing its data effectively. Partner data arrived in inconsistent formats, outdated tools like Smartsheets created fragmented workflows, and reporting processes relied heavily on manual effort.

These inefficiencies made it difficult to produce actionable insights, leaving the organization unable to meet the demands of data consumers or make timely, data-driven decisions. Additionally, they struggled to adopt modern BI tools because of inconsistent data governance and varying analytic competencies among business users.

The Solution & Results

We developed a comprehensive data strategy tailored to the unique demands of the healthcare industry, focusing on scalability, governance, and usability. We analyzed the organization’s specific needs and challenges and delivered a roadmap with actionable recommendations that addressed critical pain points:

  • Scalable Data Architecture: Recommended a cloud-based data lakehouse built on Azure, leveraging existing infrastructure to enable seamless ingestion of healthcare data through the FHIR® standard. This included integrating data from EHRs like EPIC and Oracle to centralize clinical and financial data for real-time access.
  • Improved Data Governance: Recommended a business glossary, data dictionary, and lineage tracking to enhance trust in data while reducing reliance on institutional knowledge. These tools make use of the FHIR® standard, enabling healthcare teams to standardize and compare critical metrics such as bed utilization, patient transfers, and encounter volumes. By providing accurate and consistent data across facilities, the organization can identify trends, uncover inefficiencies, and make more informed decisions to improve operational and patient care outcomes.
  • BI Tool Training and Enablement: Identified gaps in analytic competencies and recommended targeted Power BI training programs. Staff will transition from manual reporting processes to self-service analytics, improving efficiency and empowering clinical and operational decision-making.
  • Actionable Insights for Growth: Developed 39 prioritized use cases to support strategic growth and operational improvements, including dashboards for patient transfers, billing insights, and telehealth utilization.
  • Strategic Documentation: Provided a clear roadmap and technical documentation to guide the organization as it expands its partnerships and scales its data operations.

Through this tailored approach, the organization now has a strategic roadmap to address key healthcare industry challenges. This solution breaks down barriers to growth by streamlining complex data flows, standardizing data across diverse systems, ensuring regulatory compliance, and reducing staff workloads, enabling the organization to focus on strategic initiatives and improved patient care.

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