8. Aligning Operational Benefits of Big Data Analytics and Organizational Culture at WellSpan Health

Our goal in this chapter is to demonstrate the operational benefits that can be gained by implementing real-time, big data analytics in a healthcare setting and the concomitant influence of organizational culture on adoption of the technology. Benefits include improving the quality and accuracy of clinical decisions, processing health records efficiently, streamlining workflow, and improving patient satisfaction. We demonstrate these benefits by investigating patient-physician interactions in a large medical practice at WellSpan Health, and we compare the observed workflow with a modified one made possible with a big data, real-time analytics platform. By comparing these two states, we illuminate the lost opportunity and the value left on the table by legacy behaviors and processes. In addition, we uncover organizational characteristics that create a climate for cultural modification and initial acceptance of big data, real-time analytics in a change-resistant organization. The combination of academic research and practitioner implementation shows that optimization of clinical operations is a key first step toward gaining user acceptance of big data technologies.