Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts breaks information barriers by deploying high performance analytics with IBM Business Analytics and Netezza
BCBSMA decided to develop a single centralized data warehouse to provide a comprehensive and consistent source of business data, and looked to select an enterprise standard for their business intelligence solution.
“The combination of IBM Cognos Business Intelligence and Netezza gives us a lightning-fast analytics platform that has significantly increased adoption of business intelligence across the organization. As a result, we can make better, faster decisions based on more timely and accurate information – delivering competitive advantage, increasing operational efficiency, and helping us achieve our target of spending 90 percent of all premiums on the care our members need.”
Shashikanth Vangala
Manager & Chief Solutions Architect of Business Intelligence, BCBSMA
Summary
To maximize its ability to meet members’ healthcare needs, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) is a careful steward of the premium dollar. Nearly 90 percent of every premium dollar received is used to pay the medical expenses of its members – which means that operational costs must be kept to ten percent or less. Achieving this target requires a detailed understanding of cost and risk in all areas of the business, creating a significant demand for business analytics. BCBSMA has combined IBM Cognos Business Intelligence with an IBM Netezza data warehouse appliance to provide lightning-fast analysis of medical and financial data. The solution is used to create sophisticated reports on clinical and financial risk, operational efficiency, and helps to identify opportunities for strategic and competitive advantage.
Download Case Study – BCBSMA, Business Analytics & Netezza – PDF
Business Benefits
- Allows medical directors to identify high-risk disease groups and take action to minimize risk and improve patient outcomes – for example, creating new medical programs to engage with groups that have high cholesterol before it leads to heart problems.
- Enables the creation of complex health informatics reports 300 percent faster than before, helping BCBSMA service large clients more effectively.
- Gives more business users access to more useful information – user numbers have risen by 60 percent over the past two years as hunger for analytics has increased.