This month the Practice Analytics Node profiles Candice Kielly-Carroll. Candice is a Senior Research Officer of the Research in Implementation Science and eHealth Group (RISe) at the University of Sydney. Candice currently manages the Cancer Data Innovation Project for the Sydney West Translational Cancer Research Centre and conducts health services research for state and federal governments in best-practice healthcare measurement and digitisation. Candice is also completing a PhD in oncology service development on ‘Mobilising clinical practice data to improve oncology care delivered by MDTs’.
Candice was asked five quick questions about Practice Analytics:
What does practice analytics mean to you?
The use of data to identify and even predict issues and trends that will support clinical decision making, learning and overall system efficiency.
How did you get interested in practice analytics?
My own experiences in health system research and many conversations with clinicians highlighted a real gap in this area. When I started working on projects that involved electronic records, I realised how utterly chaotic it is now but how incredibly supportive it could be if utilised in a meaningful way. I also noticed that healthcare analytics is often disconnected from the clinical teams who directly impact change. These reflections aligned extremely well with the goals of practice analytics.
What excites you about the area?
The benefit potential of applying practice analytics to improving care is huge! We’re not quite there yet so it is exciting to be part of this movement that will drastically change the way care is delivered.
What are some of big challenges in the practice analytics areas?
There are many… but that is the nature of working in digital health and is possibly the most important feature of working in practice analytics. I’ve found that it is absolutely critical to understand the inherently complex and dynamic nature surrounding practice analytics and how this impacts on its success. My top challenges would have to be; the quality of the data entered, interoperability of systems, systems & interfaces not well-designed for their purpose, and of course, people.
What is your “blue sky” vision for the area in the next five years?
To me, blue skies would be all of this happening at one time:
• Government and leadership invested in a supportive and responsive system including investment in the foundational elements such as supportive legislation and the right resources, including people as well as technology.
• Clinicians excited and appropriately entering data into systems (that were perfectly designed and built for their needs/workflow) because they know and experience the value of practice analytics that is returned to them.
• Hospitals that are learning organisations who constantly evolve as a result of insights and knowledge gained from their own data. These organisations also share and disseminate that knowledge about across coordinated networks and inform decision making at other healthcare organisations.
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If you want to be profiled for the Practice Analytics Node of the DHIN email: jacqueline.wells@sydney.edu.au
A big thank you to Candice for her time.
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