Interview Blog with Rob O’Neill

Q – Did you ever think that your work would have such a positive impact on both patient and clinical staff?

A – I’ve always held true to my vision that the global population needs a massive transformation in the way that healthcare is delivered, and citizen health is optimised, through the application of analytics and AI.  Without this I foresee a growing chasm in inequity of access, quality of life, clinical outcomes and affordability.

The culture-shift within the organisation, and wider health system, is tangible and this is truly gratifying.  A great example is that we’ve just completed a 2-week sprint to design, develop and roll-out a machine-learning driven Qlik Sense app that will be used by clinicians to prioritise elective surgery as part of the covid-19 recovery process.  The collective confidence from the multi-disciplinary team (clinical, operational and analytical) is very high – it’s been a hugely successful project that will impact positively on citizen’s lives and I hope gives a glimpse into how data and analytical maturity can enable an organisation to effectively deliver its business.

Q – How important was your vision, ambition and strategy in transforming the trusts use of data?

A – It’s been critical.  I believe it’s imperative to articulate the vision of what one’s aiming to achieve (in the case of UHMB that’s using analytics and AI to improve clinical outcomes, deliver efficient clinical pathways and empower citizens in the management of their own wellness and health) and to co-develop a strategy that will take the organisation on the journey to attain the goals that have been set.

Something I think is important, but not talked too much, is the need to knuckle-down and keep focussed on delivery when things aren’t going well – and there will be times when progress feels slow or organisational politics are challenging – and to keep the positive focus that the programme of transformation will lead to results, and importantly culture change.

Q – You frequently talk about the Energise Rocket – what is it? and why is this so important in delivering analytics?

A – Ha, the Energise Rocket!  Well, that’s something I know is close to your heart.  For me, it’s the human aspect, and about the energy that can be harnessed within a collective of people to deliver success.  We’ve talked about strategy and how critical it is, but it can also be something that’s dry and difficult for people to engage with at a meaningful level.  I feel, however, that what people can engage with is being part of something that’s fundamentally changing things for the better – and in the case of healthcare that’s likely to be about saving lives and improving outcomes.

From experience I’ve found that a great way to great a culture of energy and success is to square up to the really big and difficult problems and seek to solve them in innovative ways.  I think our Qlik Analytical Command Centre is a great example of that, it’s of course a physical space and a software solution but it’s a lot more than that – we’re augmenting real-time decision making through some great value-adding technology such as write-back, alerting and autonomous machine learning but we’re also creating a ‘space’ where humans can harness this technology and be creative.  I think that’s an exciting concept – the creativity potential of the human: technology interface.

Q – You have a great collaborative approach both internally and externally – how important is this in the world of implementing analytics?

A- It’s fundamental to me.  The Qlik GTA represents the benefits of collaboration and I feel privileged to be part of a community of data, analytics and AI professionals that are so willing to share ideas and innovation across organisation, customer, vendor and geo-political boundaries.  Although there are obviously differences between organisational goals across industry verticals and from state to state, there are also significant commonalities that can be aligned into blueprints for success.  I’m very grateful for the generosity in time and engagement that I’ve received when talking to health systems around the world, and data and analytics professionals globally – it inspires me and drives me to share my experiences and to aim for excellence in terms of the organisation I work for.

Q – You have created a really good technology stack and combine different technologies to solve tricky business problems – what’s the key to this success?

A – I believe, as a customer, in having the flexibility to choose the technologies that will best enable success.  And with the surge towards cloud technology becoming ‘the norm’ we’re seeing the barriers to interoperability and integration rapidly disappear.  Every organisation is different and has unique challenges and opportunities and a flexible technology stack can help ensure that the best solutions can be implemented.  I’m opposed to vendor lock-in which I feel can hinder creativity and is strategically a bad place for both a vendor and customer.

I think the concept of data-in-motion and active-intelligence encapsulate how the best technologies can be integrated to deliver a fluidity of analytics and AI that can be built around the organisational/customer/user needs.  AN empowered business user, or clinician, or police officer shouldn’t need to be aware of the technology that’s enabling them to better perform in their role, they deserve to be supported by the best, integrated technology that delivers the best-possible user experience.

Q – You have been pushing the boundaries using the Inphinity Suite – what impact has it had on the organisation?

A – It’s been huge, when we first engaged with the Inphinity Team we knew that we’d met a group of people who shared our passion for innovation and solving real-life business problems through data and analytics.

Use of the Inphinity suite has enabled a real cultural shift where analytics are really being used within clinical workflow at UHMB.  This is significant – we’ve got clinical staff interacting with Qlik apps and recording data that’s captured live within apps and is then reutilised in real-time to enable them to make better and safer decisions.  Whether it’s risk assessing patient record completeness, triaging patients who are waiting for an appointment, identifying bed availability or managing workforce disciplinary cases we’ve got clinical and operational staff using Qlik Sense as part of their roles on a daily basis and that’s made a significant contribution to the culture shift I’ve mentioned.  The organisation continues to mature in terms of its data literacy and the use of the Inphinity suite has been a key contributor to this journey.