An Analyst’s Push to Bring Public Health Data into Local Hospital Decision-Making

Data is now more important than ever in guiding hospital strategy as healthcare systems around the world struggle with rising patient volumes, financial strains, and increased accountability demands. Although the majority of institutions concentrate on using internal data to improve operations, there is growing awareness that external, publicly accessible health data, like quality indicators, cost benchmarks, and statewide utilization trends, can provide even more profound insights.

A data strategy and healthcare analytics leader, Sharat Kothakapu has been instrumental in transforming how public hospitals make decisions by bringing in datasets that extend far beyond their own walls. “We often talk about being patient-centered and data-driven but to truly be both, we need to look outward, not just inward,” he says.

Sharat lead a ground-breaking project to incorporate Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) public datasets into the hospital's internal analytics system while she was employed at a public hospital. A level of strategic benchmarking that had not been possible before was made possible by this action. Hospital leadership was now able to see not only how their facility was doing, but also how it compared to peer institutions across the state by looking at utilization, cost, and quality indicators. These revelations exposed performance discrepancies, service gaps, and unexplored prospects for quality enhancement data that were just not available through internal data alone.

According to reports the project had clear operational and strategic impact. With AHCA data integrated into reporting systems, hospital executives made better-informed decisions about resource allocation, program development, and regional alignment. “Public health data became a strategic mirror,” Sharat explains. “It helped us ask better questions and pursue improvements that were rooted in what the region actually needed.”

Interestingly the success of the AHCA integration was far from isolated. Sharat’s broader portfolio is filled with projects that reflect his commitment to using data as a tool for transformation. He has overseen the transition from a vendor-based data warehouse to an in-house enterprise data mart an initiative that brought substantial cost savings while improving data governance. He’s also led efforts to design and deploy population health tools that blend clinical, claims, and social determinants data for identifying high-risk patients driving improvements in care management.

Further accomplishments include building oncology analytics capabilities to monitor treatment and referral patterns, developing a real-time executive dashboard for KPI visibility, and engineering analytics layers to improve performance and scalability across business intelligence tools. One of his standout achievements was the integration of disparate datasets ranging from EHR and patient satisfaction surveys to AHCA and financial data into a unified platform that could support both real-time reporting and long-term strategic planning.

These accomplishments are not just about technology or architecture they're about impact. Sharat’s work has led to greater efficiency, data literacy, and alignment across departments. His analytics ecosystem enables faster decision-making, empowers operational teams with self-service tools, and ensures that hospitals can act not only on internal metrics but also in response to broader public health realities.

Of course, these outcomes didn’t come without hurdles. One of the biggest challenges Sharat overcame was the complexity of integrating heterogeneous data sources with inconsistent definitions and variable quality. By fostering cross-functional collaboration and establishing strong governance frameworks, he ensured the data was not just technically integrated but also reliable and relevant for end-users.

Though not yet widely published in academic journals, Sharat’s work has attracted attention in healthcare analytics circles for its practical, visible impact. His thoughts on the future of data in healthcare are equally compelling: “We’re entering an era where hospitals must act like regional health intelligence hubs not just service providers. Public datasets, if used well, offer a tremendous opportunity to make care more equitable, efficient, and strategic.”

On concluding note Professionals like Sharat Kothakapu are demonstrating that it is not only feasible but also crucial to connect public data with local knowledge as the healthcare landscape changes. His work is a prime example of how careful data integration can enable hospitals to become proactive players in the public health ecosystem, moving beyond internal optics.