Informatics transformed baseball in 2002, bringing strategy, planning and “Moneyball” into a sport that had little thought into data mining and predictive analytics.

As noted by Wikipedia, the central premise of “Moneyball” (a strategy make famous by a book and movie that featured Brad Pitt) is that the collective wisdom of baseball insiders over the past century is subjective and often flawed. Traditional baseball statistics to measure a player’s success such as stolen bases, runs batted in and batting average present an antique view of the game. The Oakland A’s management staff took advantage of new and unique analytical statistics of player performance to build a team that could compete with powerful, richer competitors in Major League Baseball.

In health care, key buzzwords for 2017 indicate a need for accurate and timely informatics far beyond the historical length of stay and case mix index. There is no doubt the informatics “Moneyball” theory has brought success to both business and sports, but can it also bring driving change to health care?

As health care begins to effectively manage the amount of data produced, the ability to turn that data into meaningful action has increased. Possibly the most exciting opportunity at the crossroads of health care and technology is the ability to make true inroads in quality care with the ease of pressing a button. In health care, meaningful action is most often represented as an improvement to quality of care. Informatics must quickly show its value by enhancing current medical practices.

For example, infections in the U.S. affect approximately half a million patients annually. As a result, almost every organization tracks its infection rate. By using technology, informatics pulls information from claims data, financial data, pharmacy data and demographic data so organizations can make strides in identifying high-risk patient populations. Physicians can then determine possible alternative clinical care plans to prevent infections or proactively treat infections. The end result could be decreased costs, less antibiotic usage and shorter hospital stays.

As easy as informatics sounds, organizations cannot just plug in a USB to obtain the types of reports needed to translate patient-generated data into meaningful information. In today’s health care environment, everyone has gadgets as 23.2 million Americans utilize Fitbit and over 2 million patients worldwide utilize self-monitoring pacemakers. More than 7 million people seek the benefits of remote monitoring devices, growing more than 44 percent in 2016 and poised to increase again in 2017.

In a recent survey by Aruba on “The Internet of Things: Today and Tomorrow,” a whopping 73 percent of the respondents use the IoT for patient monitoring and maintenance. Unfortunately, less than one-third of those same respondents say data from devices is applied to other business processes. Technology advances will mean nothing if not utilized to transform health care. To do that will take a focused strategy and knowledgeable staff to find the organizational best fit.

The explosion of technology has resulted in electronic health information that concerns many privacy and security professionals. Maintaining a strong infrastructure that protects a patient’s electronic health information will be key for credibility with patients. The IoT report indicated 89 percent of those surveyed acknowledged a security breach in the past year, and almost half of respondents have struggled with malware. Despite the risks, most health care executives continue to believe that the benefits of electronic information far outweigh the risks.

In 2017, health care executives need to be aware of signs that cybersecurity, hacking, skimming and phishing are on an upward swing. Informatics can create intelligence and tracking reports to identify potential anomalies in their data that can assist in mitigating risks.

The U.S. is not a healthy nation. Chronic diseases, lifestyle choices and even geography can play a part in an individual’s general health. A simple Google search can reveal startling health statistics. By proactively addressing population health management issues, health care organizations and providers can have dramatic effects.

One example of this can be seen in a recent research project between CYCORE, the University of California, San Diego, and the MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study combines head and neck cancer patients’ heart rate, blood pressure and weight to monitor for dehydration. Dehydration is a common complication as chemotherapy and radiation therapy may lead to swallowing difficulties. A patient with swallowing difficulties will often forgo drinking fluids due to pain. A patient may end up back in the hospital with dehydration. Informatics allows the organization to correlate patient and key indicators so physicians can proactively treat, manage and educate these patients for dehydration.

Expect 2017 to bring the “Moneyball” philosophy into closer focus by advancing large-scale population health management initiatives, inclusion of patient-generated data, increased need for health care quality, advances in technology and a spotlight on privacy and security. Organizations will struggle to be successful in the coming years without fully understanding the impact of health care informatics on their business strategies.

About the author: Lou Ann Wiedemann is the vice president of health information management practice excellence at the American Health Information Management Association.