New survey results finds talent shortage and lack of resources cited as the top roadblocks to realizing the full potential of big data in healthcare, according to the Society of Actuaries’ Survey of Healthcare Executives.
The survey results released today from the Society of Actuaries (SOA) finds that healthcare executives have high expectations of the potential benefits of big data in healthcare, PR Newswire reports (PR Newswire, 12/5).
Unfortunately, most of these healthcare executives have yet to see substantial benefits, as difficulties in finding the right talent to leverage the business opportunities from large data sets and a lack of funding are hindering its application.
The online survey conducted between October 10 – 13, 2013 included responses from more than 250 decision makers at U.S. health insurance companies and hospitals and health systems. Of the 258 decision makers at health insurance companies, hospitals and health systems surveyed by the SOA:
- 66 percent say they are excited about the future potential of Big Data
- 87 percent) agrees that Big Data is an important development that will have at least some impact on their business in the future.
- 49 percent indicated Big Data provides little to no business benefit now
- 84 percent of providers and payers say they have had at least some difficulty finding staff that can synthesize complex datasets and glean actionable information from them.
- Payers and providers cite a lack of resources (funding: 20 percent; skilled staff: 20 percent) as the biggest barriers.
- 45 percent of payers and providers say they plan to add skilled staff in the next year
- 23 percent will add staff in the next 2-3 years
A full copy of the report is available for download here.
Featured image credit: Kevin Krejci via cc
