Description
Interest in applications of Business Intelligence (BI) in different areas of the economy has been growing from year to year.
Abstract—Interest in applications of Business Intelligence
(BI) in different areas of the economy has been growing from
year to year. In recent years, it has been increasing in Poland
as well. A relatively new area of using this systems is the
healthcare area. Intelligent techniques provide an effective
computational methods and robust environment for business
intelligence in the healthcare domain. It seems to be very im
portant, due to the fact, that much of the data storage in all
!inds of system used in healthcare organi"ations resides in pro
prietary silos which ma!es access difficult #$%.&hat is worth
noting using of BI systems is determined by the efficiency of the
intelligent techniques, methodologies and tools. 'his paper dis
cusses the essence of BI, characteristics of the healthcare sector
and potential applications of BI systems in the healthcare sec
tor. Also tools and e(amples of BI systems used in the sector
are presented in the paper.
I. INTRODUCTION
EALTHCARE sector is one of the most dynamic sec-
tors of the economy and health has become one of the
maor !riorities of both the E"ro!ean Union #EU$ and the
indi%id"al co"ntries. &oreo%er' healthcare is one of the
f"ndamental tas(s of modern states' and iss"es relatin) to
them are the s"bect of interest in %ario"s scientific
disci!lines. The transformation of the healthcare sector has
therefore become the recent s"bect of research in many
fields' es!ecially medicine' !sycholo)y' social !olicy.
Recently' it is the s"bect of interest of economists' as *ell
as mana)ement and IT s!ecialists.
H
No*adays' healthcare systems face challen)es d"e to
demo)ra!hic chan)es' technolo)ical ad%ances in medicine
and the limited !ossibilities to increase health f"ndin)'
re+"irin) more intensi%e search for the effecti%eness of the
systems ,-.. The im!act on this state of affairs has a lot of
factors' *hich incl"de/ risin) costs of medical ser%ices'
ra!id de%elo!ment of medical technolo)ies' increasin) E"-
ro!e0s a)in) !o!"lation' chan)in) disease !atterns' risin) e1-
!ectations and entitlements of !atients' lar)e-scale ineffi-
ciencies in health care' the !ress"re to increase access to
healthcare' the )ro*in) di%ersity of medical ser%ices'
chan)es in the a!!roach to financin) and mana)in) of
healthcare and the )ro*in) im!ortance of information tech-
nolo)y in the sector ,2..
D"e to this *e can obser%e a dee!enin) rift bet*een the
!ossibilities of financin) the health system and the needs
arisin) from ra!id technolo)ical de%elo!ment in medical sci-
ence' a)in) infrastr"ct"re' the )ro*in) demands of an a)in)
!o!"lation and increased demand for medical care ,3..
The sol"tion to this !roblem seems to be the a!!lication
of information technolo)y #IT$ in the healthcare sector' es-
!ecially those that facilitate access to data and information
and enable the s"!!ort of decision ma(in) !rocess.
II. RE4EARCH ÐODOLO56
The article is only an o"tline of "sin) 7I for s"!!ortin)
decision ma(in) !rocess in or)ani8ations of healthcare
sector. It describes the selected iss"es !osed in the title. In
order to dia)nose the !roblem the biblio)ra!hic +"ery'
analysis and synthesis methods *ere "sed. In order to
reco)ni8e the de%elo!ment of "sin) 7I for s"!!ortin)
decision ma(in) !rocess in or)ani8ations of healthcare
sector in 9oland' the case st"dy method *as "sed.
III. LITERATURE RE:IE;
A. Characteristics of Healthcare sector in Poland
No*adays' healthcare be)an to be considered in
economic terms' as s"bect of obecti%e !rocesses associated
*ith mar(et mechanisms' and of achie%in) desired
mana)ement o"tcomes. D"e to the definition of ;orld
Health Or)ani8ation #;HO$ ? healthcare incl"des acti%ities
s"ch as !re%enti%e meas"res' miti)ation and treatment in
order to ens"re the health of the citi8ens. It is also !ercei%ed
as a )ro"! of indi%id"als and instit"tions aimed at ens"rin)
the !"blic healthcare ,3..
Analy8in) the healthcare sector *e sho"ld !ay attention
to the fact that h"man health is a s!ecific )ood ,ornelia 7at(o
Uni%ersity of Economics in >ato*ice
"l. 7o)"cic(a 3b'
2?--@A >ato*ice' 9oland
Email/ (ornelia.bat(oB"e.(ato*ice.!l
'he )se of Business Intelligence *ystems in +ealthcare
,rgani"ations in Poland
Proceedings of the Federated Conference on
Computer Science and Information Systems pp. 969–976
ISBN 978-83-60810-51-4
978-83-60810-51-4/$25.00 c 2012 IEEE 969
C"rrently' the healthcare system in 9oland is based on an
ins"rance model and on the basis of article =@ of the 9olish
Constit"tion #dated - A!ril CDDA$. Accordin) to it e%ery
9olish citi8en has the ri)ht to health ser%ices' re)ardless of
their financial sit"ation and the !"blic a"thorities sho"ld
ens"re e+"al access to healthcare ser%ices financed from
!"blic f"nds. Until recently' this meant only access to the
!"blic health ser%ice. 7"t *ith the ad%ent of !ri%ate sector
healthcare is carried o"t in%ol%in) both !"blic entities and
!ri%ate ones ,=..
The mar(et of health ser%ices' altho")h it e1ists on the
bodies and mechanisms characteristic for the mar(et model
is characteri8ed by the absence of !erfect information and
the co called asymmetry of information ,amsoft$.
In 9oland the maority of !atient information #medical
records$ are collected in !a!er form or *ith the !a!er !laced
on the com!"ter #%ery often by scannin)$. This is a bi)
con%enience for !hysicians' b"t the stora)e of s"ch data is
c"mbersome' e1!ensi%e' and access to them is diffic"lt.
9a!er medical records may )enerate medical errors ca"sed
by !oor hand*ritin) le)ibility. 9re-!rinted forms'
standardi8ation of abbre%iations' and hand*ritin) became
the incenti%es to im!ro%e the handlin) and stora)e of
medical records. Also *hen !a!er records are stored in
different locations' collatin) them in one !lace by a health
!rofessionals is time cons"min) and com!licated' and the
!rocess co"ld be sim!lified by electronic records. Electronic
records im!ro%e the standardi8ation' collection' !rocessin)
and sharin) of medical data. That is *hy more and more
medical instit"tions in the *orld "se the E&R.
The terms EHR #Electronic Health Record$' E9R
#Electronic 9atient Record$ and E&R #Electronic &edical
Records$ are often "sed interchan)eably' altho")h some
differences bet*een them can be noticed ,C2.. E&R may for
e1am!le be defined as a com!"teri8ed medical record cre-
ated in an or)ani8ation that deli%ers care #hos!itals'
amb"latory en%ironments$ that can ser%e as a so"rce of data
to the EHR ,C9I - >ey 9erformance Indicator
?scorecard de%elo!ment for any b"siness areas
?creatin) dashboards
?!ro%idin) f"nctionality %ia a *eb !ortal #Internet
Access$
-. 7"ilt-in alerts' *hich are a f"nction of information #are
desi)ned to a"tomatically *arn the "ser of certain e%ents
and trends$ or !rediction #s"!er%isin) enables ad%ance
*arnin) of li(ely chan)es$.
3. Data *areho"se creation/ *hich allo*s )atherin)
b"siness-critical information in one !lace - data
*areho"se' allo*in) the elimination of red"ndant data.
7y "sin) TAR5IT mod"le analyses can be faster and
better' beca"se the "ser !erforms a m"ch smaller n"mber of
clic(s than any other tool on the mar(et ,3C.. The system
has b"ilt-in feat"res' *ith one-clic( to )et the effect in the
form of analysis of the selected %al"e' or dis!lay information
abo"t the bi))est emer)in) threats or most emer)in)
o!!ort"nities. The system enables the ra!id !re!aration of
an analysis "sin) the Idra) and dro!I f"nction. The "ser
selects the criteria #meas"res' dimensions$ that interest him
and mo%es them *ith the mo"se' for e1am!le' the area of the
9i%otTable. The Icom!lete dataI in the instant method can
achie%e a res"lt of the analysis or re!ort.
Than(s to more and more friendly and int"iti%e interfaces'
systems and b"siness intelli)ence' e%en less e1!ert "sers of
Fi). C. 4cheme of 7"siness Intelli)ence system
Fi). -. The scheme of 7I for Healthcare or)ani8ation
CELINA OLSZAK, KORNELIA BATKO: THE USE OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS 973
IT tools can del%e into the com!le1 analysis' trac( trends
and !re!are m"lti!le cross re!orts. The common interface
allo*s each *or(er )et needed information +"ic(ly at any
)i%en time. Increasin)ly !o!"lar are the 7I !ortals that are
accessible thro")h a *eb bro*ser and enable creatin)
standard re!orts and b"siness analytics. Users ha%e at their
dis!osal their o*n dashboard #Dashboard$' *hich on one
screen !ro%ides dynamic re!orts' s"mmaries' charts' etc.
Dedicated dashboards are a%ailable from the indi%id"al tabs
of the main !ortal.
As re)ards the Comarch 7I - a dedicated data *areho"se
is !ossible to !re!are and !rocess their data and create
re!orts and analysis corres!ondin) to the c"rrent needs of
the or)ani8ation ,3-.. The analy8ed data are )ro"!ed in
order to accelerate the !rocess of analysis. Comarch
7"siness Intelli)ence offers a dashboard for "sers' *ho are
not IT s!ecialists' *hich allo*s all the necessary re!orts at a
Jclic(K.
The main areas of analysis incl"de ,3-./
? administrati%e !art/ o!eratin) e1!enses #in different
sections$' the costs of s"!!lies' trans!ortation' o!eration'
trainin) costs and an increase in staff com!etence' the cost
of in%estments and ris( analysis' financial indicators and
>9Is' cashflo*' s"!!liers.
? medical !art/ the !atient len)th of stay and the related
income and e1!enses' !rofitability of indi%id"al
de!artments' "nits' o!erations' research' occ"!ancy and
a%ailability of staff' #incl"din) !roections$' the "se of
medicines lists and detection of irre)"larities.
Comarch 7"siness Intelli)ence ma(es it !ossible to in-
crease the s!eed of ac+"irin) mana)ement information.
7ased on the treatment and cleanin) of data in the *are-
ho"se' c"rrent information is al*ays a%ailable. ;ith the
s"bscri!tion' constantly !erformed re!orts are al*ays
deli%ered on time' and than(s to the alert in case of
dist"rbin) e%ents' the system a"tomatically sends a re!ort
*ith all the necessary information to dia)nose the !roblem
and ta(e the necessary action ,3-.
This 7I system im!ro%es b"siness !erformance' d"rin) the
analysis' in collaboration *ith analysts Comarch im!ro%es
b"siness !rocesses and ca!t"res bottlenec(s. &oreo%er'
analytical !latform increases !rod"cti%ity by !ro%idin)
reliable mana)ement information' eliminate "nnecessary
costs and increase re%en"es ,3-.. F"rthermore' *ith the "se
of data *areho"se the si)nificant red"ction in *aitin) time
for analysis and relief transactional system is enabled. This
sol"tion offers/ cross-sectional re!ort' ra!id ac+"isition of
information' cross-re!ortin) of %ario"s data so"rces'
!rocessin) and arran)in) the data *areho"se' reliable and
easily accessible information' definin) an inte)rated
scorecard. Comarch 7"siness Intelli)ence 9latform allo*s to
create forecasts "sin) data minin) tools. 7y or)ani8in) and
analy8in) historical data' it is !ossible to !redict the f"t"re.
For e1am!le' c"stomer beha%ior' their se)mentation' and
sales forecasts. &oreo%er' clear-c"ttin) and data on the
f"nctionin) of the com!any allo* mana)ers at %ario"s le%els
to resol%e *hat action sho"ld be ta(en to achie%e b"siness
)oals. Than(s to the int"iti%e b"siness areas' the system is
+"ic(ly res!ondin) to a )i%en +"ery' and b"ilds e%en
com!le1 re!orts and statements sim!lified to Jdra) and
dro!K method.
:. FINDIN54
A. Challenges of using BI systems in Healthcare sector
D"e to the e1!erts o!inion' healthcare sector is facin) a
lot of )lobal challen)es today. Ne%ertheless the "se of IT
si)nificantly hel!s the !hysicians in a n"mber of *ays as
clinical !erformance and !atient safety )o hand in hand.
7"siness intelli)ence #7I$ refers not only to data analysis'
b"t also the (no*led)e of relatin) the res"lts from the data
analysis to decisions s"!!ort.
Healthcare sector is %ery s!ecific in com!arison to other
sectors of the economy. Considerin) mana)ement of this
sector in com!arison to others' it is not hard to see' that
mana)ement is "nified in most sectors' b"t healthcare has
clinical and o!erational re!ortin) ,C.. &oreo%er healthcare
in%ol%es %ariety sta(eholders #c"stomers$ incl"din) clini-
cians' !ayers' )o%ernment' ser%ice !ro%iders' and "sers. On
the other hand all sectors' incl"din) healthcare' see( im-
!ro%ement in +"ality' cost' and delay thro")h inte)rated !ro-
cesses. ;hat is more' healthcare is !atient-oriented' a in
other sectors' in *hich client and !rod"ct are centers of their
attention ,C.. Considerin) system inte)ration' healthcare sys-
tems are ty!ically lar)erH more com!le1' and em!loy more
!eo!le than other systems and they still benefit from total-
system analysis. The challen)e in healthcare sector is the
fact' that %ario"s sta(eholders in healthcare or)ani8ation
m"st o!erate basic on data in m"lti!le information systems.
Healthcare ind"stry is %ery de!endent on information.
Ho*e%er' so far no technolo)y that in real-time ta(es data
and con%erts them into information *as de%elo!ed. The data
themsel%es #de%oid of conte1t$ are only sli)htly more than
"seless ,33.. 4o far' only 7"siness Intelli)ence technolo)y is
able to foc"s on (ey indicators easily and +"ic(ly to !ro%ide
%al"able information for healthcare or)ani8ations.
Information obtained in this *ay may be "sed in the daily
*or( of medical facilities for clinical dia)noses' financial
decision' order of renderin) healthcare ser%ices and
medicines' e+"i!ment mana)ement and more. Healthcare
!ro%iders are increasin)ly "sin) b"siness intelli)ence
!latform to sol%e !roblems related to !o%erty or lac( of
a!!ro!riate information in order to !ro%ide com!le1
healthcare' control of financial flo*s' o!erational and
financial efficiency' !atient safety and trans!arency of
healthcare !erformance. If the medical or)ani8ation *ants to
s"cceed' it is e1tremely im!ortant to remain %iable and
com!etiti%e and to ma(e rational and informed decisions in
the areas of treatment' finance' and mana)ement. 9hysicians'
s"r)eons' and mana)ers need c"rrent' acc"rate and tr"sted
information deli%ered in a timely manner to ens"re that +"al-
ity of care "nderlies their decision-ma(in).
Ho*e%er' on the basics of literat"re re%ie* and analysis
of 7I systems offered by 9olish %endors it can be noticed'
that b"siness intelli)ence tools can be "sed for a dee!er
"nderstandin) of healthcare' b"t the healthcare sector has
974 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FEDCSIS. WROC?AW, 2012
many limitations related to the im!lementation of this
technolo)y.
These challen)es' identified by analy8in) the 7I systems
and s!ecification of healthcare or)ani8ation' can be )ro"!ed
as follo*s/
C. Challen)es for +"ality and data standards/
? in the healthcare sector a %ery lar)e amo"nt' often of !oor
+"ality data is acc"m"lated'
? a lar)e !art of the data is still stored in !a!er form or
scanned doc"ments' rather than in di)ital form. This
ma(es data collection and sharin) them in different
)eo)ra!hic locations diffic"lt'
? the data come from %ario"s so"rces. C"rrently' there are
fe* defined standards for data in the healthcare field. This
ma(es it diffic"lt to a))re)ate data' constr"ct data
*areho"se' load data into a r"les- based en)ine in order to
)et access to actionable information and )enerate re!orts
and ad-hoc analysis'
? rele%ant +"alifications and classification of data is a (ey
element conditionin) the contin"ity of decision ma(in).
-. Challen)es for selection of information and identifyin)
(ey areas re+"irin) s"!!ort
?+"ality of healthcare is achie%ed by doin) the ri)ht thin)
at the ri)ht time' in an a!!ro!riate manner and for the ri)ht
!erson. 4o e%ery day it is necessary to identify the (ey
actions that health !rofessionals ha%e to do' to determine
their order' time and manner of their e1ec"tion'
?identifyin) the data hel!s to "nderstand and inter!ret them
by !hysicians meetin) the challen)es of e%eryday life'
beca"se medical data are increasin)ly diffic"lt to mana)e
on a daily basis.
3. Challen)es for healthcare or)ani8ations !ersonnel
#es!ecially medical staff$ for handlin) information systems/
?for many healthcare or)ani8ations and its em!loyees the
systems and a!!lications are seen as a blac( bo1. There are
too many !roects *ith too many com!le1 systems *ith
se%eral so"rces for them to deal *ith. Therefore' is
diffic"lt for healthcare mana)ers and health !rofessionals
to )et a clear !ict"re of the data in real time.
?reloadin) data systems ma(es it diffic"lt for doctors to find
time and foc"s on their main )oal L care of !atient.
B. Potential "enefits of using BI applications in
healthcare sector
The main )oal of each Healthcare or)ani8ation in con-
trolled and com!etiti%e en%ironment' is to red"ce o!eratin)
costs' *hile maintainin) a consistently acce!table le%el of
!atient treatment ,3?..
D"e to the research' the benefits of im!lementin) 7"si-
ness Intelli)ence 4ystems in healthcare or)ani8ations are e%-
ident/
C. Consolidation and protection of data L the !ossibility
of a sin)le !oint of access to data stored in m"lti!le
systems. This enables or)ani8ations to !ro%ide Jone
%ersion of tr"thK' *hich is one of the f"ndamental
obecti%es of 7I. Thro")h the "se of 7I systems it is
also !ossible to consolidate and analy8e clinical'
administrati%e and financial data' *hich also ser%es to
increase the efficiency in the dataG*or( flo*. 7etter
!rotection of !atient data is also !ossible by !ro%idin)
access to data only to those *ith a!!ro!riate access
le%els ,-. >o*als(a/ )oordyno&ana opie%a zdro&otna. /o0&iadczenia
pols%ie i mi1dzynarodo&e. U;' ;ars8a*a -??D.
,A. I. &a)da' >. 48c8y)iels(i/ An assessment of possi"le impro#ements
to the functioning of the Polish healthcare system' htt!/GG***.ey.
comG9"blicationG%*LUAssetsGOcenaPmoQC
Interest in applications of Business Intelligence (BI) in different areas of the economy has been growing from year to year.
Abstract—Interest in applications of Business Intelligence
(BI) in different areas of the economy has been growing from
year to year. In recent years, it has been increasing in Poland
as well. A relatively new area of using this systems is the
healthcare area. Intelligent techniques provide an effective
computational methods and robust environment for business
intelligence in the healthcare domain. It seems to be very im
portant, due to the fact, that much of the data storage in all
!inds of system used in healthcare organi"ations resides in pro
prietary silos which ma!es access difficult #$%.&hat is worth
noting using of BI systems is determined by the efficiency of the
intelligent techniques, methodologies and tools. 'his paper dis
cusses the essence of BI, characteristics of the healthcare sector
and potential applications of BI systems in the healthcare sec
tor. Also tools and e(amples of BI systems used in the sector
are presented in the paper.
I. INTRODUCTION
EALTHCARE sector is one of the most dynamic sec-
tors of the economy and health has become one of the
maor !riorities of both the E"ro!ean Union #EU$ and the
indi%id"al co"ntries. &oreo%er' healthcare is one of the
f"ndamental tas(s of modern states' and iss"es relatin) to
them are the s"bect of interest in %ario"s scientific
disci!lines. The transformation of the healthcare sector has
therefore become the recent s"bect of research in many
fields' es!ecially medicine' !sycholo)y' social !olicy.
Recently' it is the s"bect of interest of economists' as *ell
as mana)ement and IT s!ecialists.
H
No*adays' healthcare systems face challen)es d"e to
demo)ra!hic chan)es' technolo)ical ad%ances in medicine
and the limited !ossibilities to increase health f"ndin)'
re+"irin) more intensi%e search for the effecti%eness of the
systems ,-.. The im!act on this state of affairs has a lot of
factors' *hich incl"de/ risin) costs of medical ser%ices'
ra!id de%elo!ment of medical technolo)ies' increasin) E"-
ro!e0s a)in) !o!"lation' chan)in) disease !atterns' risin) e1-
!ectations and entitlements of !atients' lar)e-scale ineffi-
ciencies in health care' the !ress"re to increase access to
healthcare' the )ro*in) di%ersity of medical ser%ices'
chan)es in the a!!roach to financin) and mana)in) of
healthcare and the )ro*in) im!ortance of information tech-
nolo)y in the sector ,2..
D"e to this *e can obser%e a dee!enin) rift bet*een the
!ossibilities of financin) the health system and the needs
arisin) from ra!id technolo)ical de%elo!ment in medical sci-
ence' a)in) infrastr"ct"re' the )ro*in) demands of an a)in)
!o!"lation and increased demand for medical care ,3..
The sol"tion to this !roblem seems to be the a!!lication
of information technolo)y #IT$ in the healthcare sector' es-
!ecially those that facilitate access to data and information
and enable the s"!!ort of decision ma(in) !rocess.
II. RE4EARCH ÐODOLO56
The article is only an o"tline of "sin) 7I for s"!!ortin)
decision ma(in) !rocess in or)ani8ations of healthcare
sector. It describes the selected iss"es !osed in the title. In
order to dia)nose the !roblem the biblio)ra!hic +"ery'
analysis and synthesis methods *ere "sed. In order to
reco)ni8e the de%elo!ment of "sin) 7I for s"!!ortin)
decision ma(in) !rocess in or)ani8ations of healthcare
sector in 9oland' the case st"dy method *as "sed.
III. LITERATURE RE:IE;
A. Characteristics of Healthcare sector in Poland
No*adays' healthcare be)an to be considered in
economic terms' as s"bect of obecti%e !rocesses associated
*ith mar(et mechanisms' and of achie%in) desired
mana)ement o"tcomes. D"e to the definition of ;orld
Health Or)ani8ation #;HO$ ? healthcare incl"des acti%ities
s"ch as !re%enti%e meas"res' miti)ation and treatment in
order to ens"re the health of the citi8ens. It is also !ercei%ed
as a )ro"! of indi%id"als and instit"tions aimed at ens"rin)
the !"blic healthcare ,3..
Analy8in) the healthcare sector *e sho"ld !ay attention
to the fact that h"man health is a s!ecific )ood ,ornelia 7at(o
Uni%ersity of Economics in >ato*ice
"l. 7o)"cic(a 3b'
2?--@A >ato*ice' 9oland
Email/ (ornelia.bat(oB"e.(ato*ice.!l
'he )se of Business Intelligence *ystems in +ealthcare
,rgani"ations in Poland
Proceedings of the Federated Conference on
Computer Science and Information Systems pp. 969–976
ISBN 978-83-60810-51-4
978-83-60810-51-4/$25.00 c 2012 IEEE 969
C"rrently' the healthcare system in 9oland is based on an
ins"rance model and on the basis of article =@ of the 9olish
Constit"tion #dated - A!ril CDDA$. Accordin) to it e%ery
9olish citi8en has the ri)ht to health ser%ices' re)ardless of
their financial sit"ation and the !"blic a"thorities sho"ld
ens"re e+"al access to healthcare ser%ices financed from
!"blic f"nds. Until recently' this meant only access to the
!"blic health ser%ice. 7"t *ith the ad%ent of !ri%ate sector
healthcare is carried o"t in%ol%in) both !"blic entities and
!ri%ate ones ,=..
The mar(et of health ser%ices' altho")h it e1ists on the
bodies and mechanisms characteristic for the mar(et model
is characteri8ed by the absence of !erfect information and
the co called asymmetry of information ,amsoft$.
In 9oland the maority of !atient information #medical
records$ are collected in !a!er form or *ith the !a!er !laced
on the com!"ter #%ery often by scannin)$. This is a bi)
con%enience for !hysicians' b"t the stora)e of s"ch data is
c"mbersome' e1!ensi%e' and access to them is diffic"lt.
9a!er medical records may )enerate medical errors ca"sed
by !oor hand*ritin) le)ibility. 9re-!rinted forms'
standardi8ation of abbre%iations' and hand*ritin) became
the incenti%es to im!ro%e the handlin) and stora)e of
medical records. Also *hen !a!er records are stored in
different locations' collatin) them in one !lace by a health
!rofessionals is time cons"min) and com!licated' and the
!rocess co"ld be sim!lified by electronic records. Electronic
records im!ro%e the standardi8ation' collection' !rocessin)
and sharin) of medical data. That is *hy more and more
medical instit"tions in the *orld "se the E&R.
The terms EHR #Electronic Health Record$' E9R
#Electronic 9atient Record$ and E&R #Electronic &edical
Records$ are often "sed interchan)eably' altho")h some
differences bet*een them can be noticed ,C2.. E&R may for
e1am!le be defined as a com!"teri8ed medical record cre-
ated in an or)ani8ation that deli%ers care #hos!itals'
amb"latory en%ironments$ that can ser%e as a so"rce of data
to the EHR ,C9I - >ey 9erformance Indicator
?scorecard de%elo!ment for any b"siness areas
?creatin) dashboards
?!ro%idin) f"nctionality %ia a *eb !ortal #Internet
Access$
-. 7"ilt-in alerts' *hich are a f"nction of information #are
desi)ned to a"tomatically *arn the "ser of certain e%ents
and trends$ or !rediction #s"!er%isin) enables ad%ance
*arnin) of li(ely chan)es$.
3. Data *areho"se creation/ *hich allo*s )atherin)
b"siness-critical information in one !lace - data
*areho"se' allo*in) the elimination of red"ndant data.
7y "sin) TAR5IT mod"le analyses can be faster and
better' beca"se the "ser !erforms a m"ch smaller n"mber of
clic(s than any other tool on the mar(et ,3C.. The system
has b"ilt-in feat"res' *ith one-clic( to )et the effect in the
form of analysis of the selected %al"e' or dis!lay information
abo"t the bi))est emer)in) threats or most emer)in)
o!!ort"nities. The system enables the ra!id !re!aration of
an analysis "sin) the Idra) and dro!I f"nction. The "ser
selects the criteria #meas"res' dimensions$ that interest him
and mo%es them *ith the mo"se' for e1am!le' the area of the
9i%otTable. The Icom!lete dataI in the instant method can
achie%e a res"lt of the analysis or re!ort.
Than(s to more and more friendly and int"iti%e interfaces'
systems and b"siness intelli)ence' e%en less e1!ert "sers of
Fi). C. 4cheme of 7"siness Intelli)ence system
Fi). -. The scheme of 7I for Healthcare or)ani8ation
CELINA OLSZAK, KORNELIA BATKO: THE USE OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS 973
IT tools can del%e into the com!le1 analysis' trac( trends
and !re!are m"lti!le cross re!orts. The common interface
allo*s each *or(er )et needed information +"ic(ly at any
)i%en time. Increasin)ly !o!"lar are the 7I !ortals that are
accessible thro")h a *eb bro*ser and enable creatin)
standard re!orts and b"siness analytics. Users ha%e at their
dis!osal their o*n dashboard #Dashboard$' *hich on one
screen !ro%ides dynamic re!orts' s"mmaries' charts' etc.
Dedicated dashboards are a%ailable from the indi%id"al tabs
of the main !ortal.
As re)ards the Comarch 7I - a dedicated data *areho"se
is !ossible to !re!are and !rocess their data and create
re!orts and analysis corres!ondin) to the c"rrent needs of
the or)ani8ation ,3-.. The analy8ed data are )ro"!ed in
order to accelerate the !rocess of analysis. Comarch
7"siness Intelli)ence offers a dashboard for "sers' *ho are
not IT s!ecialists' *hich allo*s all the necessary re!orts at a
Jclic(K.
The main areas of analysis incl"de ,3-./
? administrati%e !art/ o!eratin) e1!enses #in different
sections$' the costs of s"!!lies' trans!ortation' o!eration'
trainin) costs and an increase in staff com!etence' the cost
of in%estments and ris( analysis' financial indicators and
>9Is' cashflo*' s"!!liers.
? medical !art/ the !atient len)th of stay and the related
income and e1!enses' !rofitability of indi%id"al
de!artments' "nits' o!erations' research' occ"!ancy and
a%ailability of staff' #incl"din) !roections$' the "se of
medicines lists and detection of irre)"larities.
Comarch 7"siness Intelli)ence ma(es it !ossible to in-
crease the s!eed of ac+"irin) mana)ement information.
7ased on the treatment and cleanin) of data in the *are-
ho"se' c"rrent information is al*ays a%ailable. ;ith the
s"bscri!tion' constantly !erformed re!orts are al*ays
deli%ered on time' and than(s to the alert in case of
dist"rbin) e%ents' the system a"tomatically sends a re!ort
*ith all the necessary information to dia)nose the !roblem
and ta(e the necessary action ,3-.
This 7I system im!ro%es b"siness !erformance' d"rin) the
analysis' in collaboration *ith analysts Comarch im!ro%es
b"siness !rocesses and ca!t"res bottlenec(s. &oreo%er'
analytical !latform increases !rod"cti%ity by !ro%idin)
reliable mana)ement information' eliminate "nnecessary
costs and increase re%en"es ,3-.. F"rthermore' *ith the "se
of data *areho"se the si)nificant red"ction in *aitin) time
for analysis and relief transactional system is enabled. This
sol"tion offers/ cross-sectional re!ort' ra!id ac+"isition of
information' cross-re!ortin) of %ario"s data so"rces'
!rocessin) and arran)in) the data *areho"se' reliable and
easily accessible information' definin) an inte)rated
scorecard. Comarch 7"siness Intelli)ence 9latform allo*s to
create forecasts "sin) data minin) tools. 7y or)ani8in) and
analy8in) historical data' it is !ossible to !redict the f"t"re.
For e1am!le' c"stomer beha%ior' their se)mentation' and
sales forecasts. &oreo%er' clear-c"ttin) and data on the
f"nctionin) of the com!any allo* mana)ers at %ario"s le%els
to resol%e *hat action sho"ld be ta(en to achie%e b"siness
)oals. Than(s to the int"iti%e b"siness areas' the system is
+"ic(ly res!ondin) to a )i%en +"ery' and b"ilds e%en
com!le1 re!orts and statements sim!lified to Jdra) and
dro!K method.
:. FINDIN54
A. Challenges of using BI systems in Healthcare sector
D"e to the e1!erts o!inion' healthcare sector is facin) a
lot of )lobal challen)es today. Ne%ertheless the "se of IT
si)nificantly hel!s the !hysicians in a n"mber of *ays as
clinical !erformance and !atient safety )o hand in hand.
7"siness intelli)ence #7I$ refers not only to data analysis'
b"t also the (no*led)e of relatin) the res"lts from the data
analysis to decisions s"!!ort.
Healthcare sector is %ery s!ecific in com!arison to other
sectors of the economy. Considerin) mana)ement of this
sector in com!arison to others' it is not hard to see' that
mana)ement is "nified in most sectors' b"t healthcare has
clinical and o!erational re!ortin) ,C.. &oreo%er healthcare
in%ol%es %ariety sta(eholders #c"stomers$ incl"din) clini-
cians' !ayers' )o%ernment' ser%ice !ro%iders' and "sers. On
the other hand all sectors' incl"din) healthcare' see( im-
!ro%ement in +"ality' cost' and delay thro")h inte)rated !ro-
cesses. ;hat is more' healthcare is !atient-oriented' a in
other sectors' in *hich client and !rod"ct are centers of their
attention ,C.. Considerin) system inte)ration' healthcare sys-
tems are ty!ically lar)erH more com!le1' and em!loy more
!eo!le than other systems and they still benefit from total-
system analysis. The challen)e in healthcare sector is the
fact' that %ario"s sta(eholders in healthcare or)ani8ation
m"st o!erate basic on data in m"lti!le information systems.
Healthcare ind"stry is %ery de!endent on information.
Ho*e%er' so far no technolo)y that in real-time ta(es data
and con%erts them into information *as de%elo!ed. The data
themsel%es #de%oid of conte1t$ are only sli)htly more than
"seless ,33.. 4o far' only 7"siness Intelli)ence technolo)y is
able to foc"s on (ey indicators easily and +"ic(ly to !ro%ide
%al"able information for healthcare or)ani8ations.
Information obtained in this *ay may be "sed in the daily
*or( of medical facilities for clinical dia)noses' financial
decision' order of renderin) healthcare ser%ices and
medicines' e+"i!ment mana)ement and more. Healthcare
!ro%iders are increasin)ly "sin) b"siness intelli)ence
!latform to sol%e !roblems related to !o%erty or lac( of
a!!ro!riate information in order to !ro%ide com!le1
healthcare' control of financial flo*s' o!erational and
financial efficiency' !atient safety and trans!arency of
healthcare !erformance. If the medical or)ani8ation *ants to
s"cceed' it is e1tremely im!ortant to remain %iable and
com!etiti%e and to ma(e rational and informed decisions in
the areas of treatment' finance' and mana)ement. 9hysicians'
s"r)eons' and mana)ers need c"rrent' acc"rate and tr"sted
information deli%ered in a timely manner to ens"re that +"al-
ity of care "nderlies their decision-ma(in).
Ho*e%er' on the basics of literat"re re%ie* and analysis
of 7I systems offered by 9olish %endors it can be noticed'
that b"siness intelli)ence tools can be "sed for a dee!er
"nderstandin) of healthcare' b"t the healthcare sector has
974 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FEDCSIS. WROC?AW, 2012
many limitations related to the im!lementation of this
technolo)y.
These challen)es' identified by analy8in) the 7I systems
and s!ecification of healthcare or)ani8ation' can be )ro"!ed
as follo*s/
C. Challen)es for +"ality and data standards/
? in the healthcare sector a %ery lar)e amo"nt' often of !oor
+"ality data is acc"m"lated'
? a lar)e !art of the data is still stored in !a!er form or
scanned doc"ments' rather than in di)ital form. This
ma(es data collection and sharin) them in different
)eo)ra!hic locations diffic"lt'
? the data come from %ario"s so"rces. C"rrently' there are
fe* defined standards for data in the healthcare field. This
ma(es it diffic"lt to a))re)ate data' constr"ct data
*areho"se' load data into a r"les- based en)ine in order to
)et access to actionable information and )enerate re!orts
and ad-hoc analysis'
? rele%ant +"alifications and classification of data is a (ey
element conditionin) the contin"ity of decision ma(in).
-. Challen)es for selection of information and identifyin)
(ey areas re+"irin) s"!!ort
?+"ality of healthcare is achie%ed by doin) the ri)ht thin)
at the ri)ht time' in an a!!ro!riate manner and for the ri)ht
!erson. 4o e%ery day it is necessary to identify the (ey
actions that health !rofessionals ha%e to do' to determine
their order' time and manner of their e1ec"tion'
?identifyin) the data hel!s to "nderstand and inter!ret them
by !hysicians meetin) the challen)es of e%eryday life'
beca"se medical data are increasin)ly diffic"lt to mana)e
on a daily basis.
3. Challen)es for healthcare or)ani8ations !ersonnel
#es!ecially medical staff$ for handlin) information systems/
?for many healthcare or)ani8ations and its em!loyees the
systems and a!!lications are seen as a blac( bo1. There are
too many !roects *ith too many com!le1 systems *ith
se%eral so"rces for them to deal *ith. Therefore' is
diffic"lt for healthcare mana)ers and health !rofessionals
to )et a clear !ict"re of the data in real time.
?reloadin) data systems ma(es it diffic"lt for doctors to find
time and foc"s on their main )oal L care of !atient.
B. Potential "enefits of using BI applications in
healthcare sector
The main )oal of each Healthcare or)ani8ation in con-
trolled and com!etiti%e en%ironment' is to red"ce o!eratin)
costs' *hile maintainin) a consistently acce!table le%el of
!atient treatment ,3?..
D"e to the research' the benefits of im!lementin) 7"si-
ness Intelli)ence 4ystems in healthcare or)ani8ations are e%-
ident/
C. Consolidation and protection of data L the !ossibility
of a sin)le !oint of access to data stored in m"lti!le
systems. This enables or)ani8ations to !ro%ide Jone
%ersion of tr"thK' *hich is one of the f"ndamental
obecti%es of 7I. Thro")h the "se of 7I systems it is
also !ossible to consolidate and analy8e clinical'
administrati%e and financial data' *hich also ser%es to
increase the efficiency in the dataG*or( flo*. 7etter
!rotection of !atient data is also !ossible by !ro%idin)
access to data only to those *ith a!!ro!riate access
le%els ,-. >o*als(a/ )oordyno&ana opie%a zdro&otna. /o0&iadczenia
pols%ie i mi1dzynarodo&e. U;' ;ars8a*a -??D.
,A. I. &a)da' >. 48c8y)iels(i/ An assessment of possi"le impro#ements
to the functioning of the Polish healthcare system' htt!/GG***.ey.
comG9"blicationG%*LUAssetsGOcenaPmoQC