Historical Application of Statistics in Healthcare
Historical contributions of statistics in healthcare are immense. The use of statistics in the medical field is evident in contributors such as William Farr who applied statistics in analyzing death rates. Correlation methods were earlier developed by Karl Pearson who established the goodness of -fits-tests. Statistics have been applied in the clinical setting since the early 19th century to the mid-20th century where statistic information was used at the Communicable Disease Center (CDC) to monitor infectious diseases. Recent statistical contributions in the healthcare field involved evaluation of statistics in nursing by Fowler, Chevannes and Jarvis where they provide reasons why nurses should equip themselves with statistical knowledge. This further advanced the used of statistics in the clinical setting to ascertain the cause and effects of certain health phenomena.
Since the introduction of statistics in the healthcare sector, they have significantly altered the healthcare operations. Nurses require statistical ability if they have to read and interpret statistical intelligence. Literature regarding care management are being presented in data form instead of purely theoretical forms. This means that nurses have to strive to understand the data presentation forms typical of the clinical setting. Frequent training are mandatory for health care workers and practitioners because of the changing forms of healthcare data. It is through the use of statistics that nurses make a decision on where to fetch information. Without valid statistics, it becomes difficult for nurses in modern healthcare practices to make critical decisions regarding certain information.
The application of statistics has increased issues of evidence-based practice because data reveals the actual sense of a particular scenario which can be applied further in utilizing clinical information for treatment. The effectiveness of a particular healthcare practice is examined in the way evidential health information is being utilized by the health workers in ensuring quality. Statistical studies have evolved historically and they tend to improve depending on the clinical needs of patients hence, calling for the health practitioners to be fully conversant of the needs to produce results through efficient use of data. Measuring improvement means making a comparison between certain variables regarding a particular health issue. Healthcare statistics have immensely transformed the health care sector in terms of measuring improvement. The only way comparisons can be made properly is through the healthcare data obtained after conducting certain procedures. As such, health information is crucial in taking the healthcare sector to another level.
It should, however, be noted that statistics often have limitations because they do not prove anything but give chances of the possibility of something to happen based on the results of particular research. As such, this implies that nurses and healthcare practitioners have to understand properly aspects data in regards to healthcare. Healthcare organizations have to ensure that their workers conform to the basics if not the complex aspects of healthcare provision. It is important for healthcare providers to examine the capability and willingness of their workers to learn new concepts and stay critical in examining the relationship between data provided and real-life concepts. Healthcare data is important in ascertaining the quality of services provided by converting activities into numeric and relating to the overall expectations. The evolution of healthcare data in the healthcare industry has greatly contributed to the provision of services which are currently being described in data form.