Introducing the Dimensional Insight Book Club

by | Feb 27, 2018 | General BI, Healthcare

Reading Time: 5 minutes

dimensional insight book clubHave you ever wanted to read a book that would help you with some aspect of your work life but weren’t quite sure what book to pick? Or have you read a great book that you’ve wanted to discuss and share with others? Today we’re starting up the Dimensional Insight book club. In this series, we’ll be recommending and reading various books that relate to topics such as analytics, technology, and business, as well as include industry-specific books in verticals such as healthcare, wine and spirits, and manufacturing.

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Here’s how it will work: we’ll recommend a book here on the blog (please feel free to submit suggestions). About six weeks later, we’ll discuss it with a panel of folks who have read the book. (Again, please let us know if you’d like to be on our book panel!) Feel free to add your comments on the book on the blog, or just read the book and see what others thought about it. Today, we’ll preview our first book selection, and show you additional recommendations from people here at Dimensional Insight who will be on our initial panel in case you’re looking to read more.

Book Club pick

the digital doctorThe Digital Doctor by Dr. Robert Wachter

In The Digital Doctor, Dr. Robert Wachter addresses the digital transformation and adoption of digital technology in healthcare. At the same time, he asks the difficult question: is technology is the solution for all of healthcare’s problems? This book is a good read for those who work in healthcare or have curiosity about the future of healthcare.

Interested? You have until April 10th to read this book – that’s when we’ll discuss it here on the blog. You can see if your library has it available for check-out or buy it here on Amazon.

Additional book recommendations

Signal: Understanding What Matters in a World of Noise by Stephen Few

Recommended by George Dealy, VP of Healthcare Applications

If you’re looking to gain perspective on analysis and the role of an analyst, Signal will supply you with a good base of knowledge as well as inspire you to ask more questions. Among the most valuable aspect of Signal is how Few complements his perspective on analysis with references to the underlying foundation of analytics knowledge. I’ve found these references to be particularly valuable and have expanded my own knowledge of the field of analysis significantly by delving into them. Signal is structured around the metaphor of a journey through an unfamiliar land, like analysis. Like analysis, a journey isn’t an easy affair. It requires exploration and experimentation to find meaning in the experience. I hope this book helps you understand the dilemma of the modern day analyst.

Health Econometrics Using Stata by Partha Deb, Edward C. Norton, and Willard G. Manning

Recommended by Julie Lamoureux, senior consultant, healthcare

This book is an interesting first book to understand the models used in healthcare expenditures. The reader can learn how to interpret various models fitted to data. What I liked about this book is that they do not support that there is only one valid model to fit and analyze data, instead they explain how the different models can differ in their observations and the suggested conclusions. This book assumes the reader has some knowledge of Stata (which is very close to R programming)

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Recommended by Kathy Sucich, senior content & communications manager

First of all, Atul Gawande is a great writer. Period. It’s worth it to read anything he writes, especially his articles in The New Yorker magazine. I would recommend Being Mortal because it touches on many aspects of healthcare, from the personal to the “business” side. This book takes a critical look at how we think about old age and dying, including how we try to extend life at all costs and how doctors have difficulty confronting the issue of death with their patients. After reading this book, it was easy for me to see how the healthcare system has become extremely costly, and how – in many cases – it doesn’t need to be. This book also discusses how to have difficult conversations with loved ones around dying, which personally, was useful during a trying time for my family.

How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman

Recommended by Natalie Cantave, product marketing manager

I read this book in college when I enrolled in a Health Psychology course, which focused on the role of psychology and health. I would recommend How Doctors Think because it humanizes doctors through Dr. Groopman’s experience as both a patient and an oncologist. The book discusses the frequency of misdiagnoses because of doctors’ judgments as well as sheds light on how doctors could improve their thought processes, approach towards diagnoses, and ways of communicating with their patients. As a psychology major, How Doctors Think forced me to examine the patient-physician relationship, health promotion/communication, and various aspects of patient care.

Start reading!

As spring approaches, we hope you can add one of these books to your reading list. And of course, stay tuned for our post on April 10th, when we will discuss our first book club selection, The Digital Doctor.

Ready for a test drive of our healthcare analytics software?

Natalie Cantave

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