The future of healthcare operations bears a distinct resemblance to air traffic control systems as it moves toward predictive analytics and system-wide collaboration, according to a MedCityNews column.
The aviation industry has long been a model for speedy, meaningful reforms in the wake of problems, and part of that is its investment in improving air traffic control, writes Mohan Giridharadas, an expert in LEAN methodologies. For example, he writes, John F. Kennedy International Airport went from only a few hundred flights per day in the 1960s to more than 10 times that amount in the modern era due to more sophisticated scheduling and air traffic control capacity.
Similarly, the rise of predictive analytics in healthcare settings can similarly expand hospitals' care capabilities, allowing them to treat far more patients without increasing facility size.
For example, airlines satisfy their passengers not just through in-person services, but through a network of "invisible supporting services" such as bag transfers or rebookings, whereas hospitals delivering patient-centered care can enlist services such as labs and pharmacies that make care appear seamless to patients.
Experts have said that the predictive model that has helped Netflix build a customer-focused strategy could be applied to preventive care as well, FierceHealthcare previously reported, both to pinpoint risk and identify causal relationships that could help them improve patient outcomes.
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