Carolinas HealthCare System
Define: Big Data
Three Types of Business Analytics
- Descriptive Analytics: What happened?
- Predictive Analytics: What could happen?
- Prescriptive Analytics: What should we do?
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Big Data & Consumer Analytics
In 2014, Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS), one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States, consolidated its fragmented analytics talent and data assets into a centralized unit: the Dickson Advanced Analytics (DA2) group. DA2’s mandate was ambitious: to move beyond traditional reporting toward predictive and prescriptive analytics that could improve patient outcomes, enhance operational efficiency, and reduce system-wide costs.
DA2 sought to integrate diverse and sensitive data sources (e.g., clinical records, financial data, demographic information) to support data-driven decision-making across the organization. This case highlights both the promise of healthcare analytics and the organizational, ethical, and managerial barriers that shape whether such capabilities actually get used. Read the case below to get prepared.
Case: Carolinas HealthCare System: Consumer Analytics (515060)Download Carolinas HealthCare System: Consumer Analytics (515060)
Now that you have read the case, consider the following case questions and bring your answers to class.
| Case Preparation Questions: 1. What problems was CHS trying to solve by investing in DA2? 2. How successful has DA2 been so far? Where has it created value, and where has impact been more limited? Why? 3. Which organizations are best-placed to provide integrated data management for individual patients? |