Blog
What the Research Analyst Wants: Reliable, timely, and synthesized data
Chris Lundgren, IQVIA, Associate Sales Director, OneKey
Oct 05, 2021

Whether at a local-, state-, or federal-level, the healthcare research analyst craves collaboration. Only by working across geographical and multi-disciplinary boundaries – and by piecing together disparate data sources – can he or she bring fresh insights to bear that can have a material impact on public health and wellbeing.

Cooperation is essential for success. That’s why an effective analyst must demonstrate strong interpersonal skills as much as strong math skills. Despite misleading stereotypes, the research analyst is a powerful relationship builder who rarely works in isolation.

While those are the ideal working conditions, the reality is sometimes different.

Analysts often find that despite their best efforts, they are stifled by working boundaries controlled by regulation which results in inadequate access to relevant data. Similarly, the analyst works in a timebound environment where contact with clinical stakeholders can be extremely challenging. The data itself is typically held in multiple databases with little or no interoperability. This nods to a wider issue with data collection – a general reluctance within healthcare to adopt non-relational databases which can prove another limit on access.

None of these challenges are insurmountable, but they do demand a solution that addresses the needs of the research analyst, especially one working in a governmental setting.

This is where IQVIA OneKey comes in. Our dataset features 10.8 million healthcare professionals (HCPs), 700,000 organizations, and 2.7 million email addresses covering both business and personal domains.

With data like this, the research analyst can:

  • Extend coverage of HCPs, organizations, and affiliations
  • Connect to a single reference data standard
  • Understand healthcare access, value, and potential

We understand that only with trusted data can research experts map relationships to understand HCP decision making and connections. Only with trusted data can they understand market dynamics to pinpoint where coverage is weak and identify priority areas. And only with trusted data can research analysts keep track of compliance.

Moreover, we understand that data collection is not a one-time activity; healthcare is an ever-changing landscape and your data collection process should reflect that. Changes come in the shape of huge, unexpected events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, but also on a smaller scale such as career moves, institutional mergers and acquisitions, or modifications to the regulatory backdrop. For those seeking market visibility, depth, and context, reflecting change in your data collection processes and analytics strategies is essential.

It is something we reflect on in our recent eBook – Extend, Connect, Understand: A Practical Guide to Getting the Most Out of Healthcare Data. The authors of the eBook look at what makes good data and how to apply reference datasets to provide a major advantage in understanding and delivery.

With access to this kind of healthcare data solution, research analysts are armed with tools to analyze complex requirements – the billing of government healthcare institutions, for example. It is a solution that is likely to prove essential in validating and automating internal and external reports as well. It will drive data virtualization and metadata management, applying medical codes to clinical data to facilitate decision making.

Perhaps above all, it will bring together previously disparate data sources – something the collaborative and collegiate research analyst craves.

To find out more about how reference datasets can revolutionize the way your work, download Extend, Connect, Understand: A Practical Guide to Getting the Most Out of Healthcare Data now.

Extend, Connect, Understand: A Practical Guide to Getting the Most Out of Healthcare Data

This eBook is designed to provide practical advice on how to choose – and how to use – the best reference data that will deliver tangible outcomes and engage your target audience. It's a must-read guide for anyone who uses a data partner and for companies hoping to revolutionize their business and increase ROI by identifying highly qualified leads and impactful key opinion leaders.
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