Data-Driven Decision-Making in Healthcare: Leveraging AI and Insights for Improved Outcomes

Strasys’s “Thinking Differently” December webinar explored the role of data, AI and science in decision-making, helping healthcare leaders make better decisions, cutting through politics and complex systems, create value and improve the quality of healthcare.

“Data analytics and AI is only going to have impact if it leads to real change”

The webinar was full of practical examples of leveraging data to drive innovation. It featured a hospital trust leader discussing the boardroom perspective on how to use data differently to make better decisions and achieve large-scale impact, a data expert highlighting the dangers of blindly adopting AI and the importance of critical thinking, and a primary care clinician emphasising the need to use data in a more meaningful way to improve patient outcomes. The webinar concluded with Strasys, Founder and CEO, sharing practical steps for healthcare leaders to think differently.

Chaired by David Flory, Chair of University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, who has extensive experience leading healthcare organisations, he highlighted the growing pressures from service users, payers, funders, and governments to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. He emphasised that one enduring truth remains: the defining factor between excellent care and subpar care is, without a doubt, the quality of decision-making.

David added: “Having experienced the service from all angles, I’ve come to understand that using data wisely to inform better decision-making is crucial for driving the changes necessary to achieve meaningful reforms. Leveraging the data and evidence at our disposal empowers us with the confidence to deliver improved outcomes for our population.”

Making sense of the data 

James Sumner, Chief Executive, University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, a pioneer in using data to improve management decisions and patient outcomes, recognised that often the NHS is not good at pulling data together and turning it into actionable insights. He highlighted the need to shift from using basic statistical data by group or speciality to finding the magic from connecting and triangulating data to understand more about patients, who they are, their needs, their wants and their motivations.

He continued “That level of data helped us understand how to serve our patients, their unmet needs, and really importantly helped us understand how they choose and access services. That was the moment the lightbulb really began to shine in the boardroom.”

A key discovery was that around 1% of complex elderly patients accounted for huge amounts of resource use due to fragmented care processes. With Strasys’s guidance and coaching, the organisation started to connect that data in a very different way, and came up with really radical and different solutions, but also understood the capabilities required.

Within a year, insights expanded from the hospital to system-wide budget discussions, fostering joint resource allocation, applying data-driven insights to staff management, addressing challenges like capacity, skills, and workforce demographics.

James concluded “Yes we have lots of data, and we will get more data. Yes, it’s imperfect, but the real value is not from the technical aspects but to building our staff and leaders’ capabilities to translate data to insights and translate into action. Key to this was making sense of the data.”

AI alone cannot drive meaningful change 

Next to speak was Qian Huang, Chief Executive and Impact Officer of Logan Tod & Co and AnalystX Process Mining Community Founding Member. Highlighting the NHS’s significant investment of over £100 million in a Federated Data Platform, she emphasised that data has become a critical focus and framed the discussion around how data and analytics can be leveraged to improve healthcare outcomes.

“For many, the essential question remains: what is the true value of these investments? AI alone cannot drive meaningful change, it’s the people who interpret the data, act on it, and use it to inspire transformation that make the difference.”

Qian challenged technologists, analysts, and leaders to focus on turning insights into impactful action. Drawing on her experience over the past four years of pioneering process mining in the NHS, Qian explained how this approach has revealed patient journeys in ways previously unimaginable. However, she observed that many of these insights fail to translate into action, with dashboards often left unused, akin to the fate of countless consulting reports she once wrote.

Qian addressed the challenges of navigating difficult times, including potential organisational turnarounds. She introduced an application powered by LLMs that learns how teams interpret information, identifies issues, assesses local contexts, and estimates the impact of proposed solutions, such as in A&E departments. She concluded by posing a challenge: how will leaders use these tools and insights to drive real and lasting change?

Focus on holistic approaches rather than single-disease issues 

Dr Gareth Forbes, GP partner, Clinical Lead CDRC*, Director Derwentside Healthcare GP Federation and Informatics Lead for Primary Care Research in NE and N Cumbria, focused on using data to drive real-world improvements in primary care, challenging the effectiveness of data analysis in improving patient care. He highlighted CDRC’s approach of maximising the impact of four key patient interactions: opportunistic care, routine care, systematic targeting, and addressing inequalities or vulnerabilities. Examples included leveraging IT tools to identify undiagnosed hypertension and targeting interventions based on risk levels.

Gareth added “Tools alone won’t create change unless stakeholders are motivated to use them. In the context of primary care facing unsustainable workloads and burnout, financial and practical incentives become crucial. For instance, in County Durham, data showed many patients with undiagnosed or poorly managed hypertension, a treatable condition with significant long-term health benefits.”

Gareth proposed focusing on holistic approaches rather than single-disease issues. This involves tailoring interventions to patient needs, directing resources to those requiring extra support, and prioritising relationships and interactions over dashboards. He concluded by advocating for data-driven investments in pragmatic, patient-centered care delivery, emphasising the importance of understanding patient priorities, fears, and wishes – elements often overlooked and very difficult, if not impossible to put on a dashboard.

Generative AI is no longer the future – It’s here and it’s everywhere

Our final speaker, Naeem Younis, CEO and Founder, Strasys, has been at the forefront of coaching and developing leaders and boards through using data to make better decisions.

With any transformative technology, debates emerge. On one side, AI’s potential is to improve diagnosis, deliver personalised care and democratise access. On the other, there are concerns about widening inequalities or losing the human touch.

Today, decisions on how healthcare resources are used rest in the hands of a few. To build thriving communities, leaders must make data-driven decisions that focus on delivering value.

Naeem argues “By mastering the basics, we can unlock the full potential of generative AI using the data we already have. Strasys has developed practical tools for health leaders, based on real-world experience: shift from siloed to connected thinking, prioritise value over transactions, foster judgment and accountability, and ensure data understanding extends to boardrooms.”

AI will challenge traditional healthcare models, but its promise hinges on getting the fundamentals right. Without this foundation, disruption could lead to chaos instead of transformation.

In summary, the webinar speakers emphasised the importance of starting with the consumer by identifying their challenges and urged leaders to dedicate an hour of board development time to exploring how data can be leveraged more effectively.