A new era in hospital controlling

Hospitals are under massive pressure to transform: rising operating costs, the ongoing shortage of skilled workers and staff, and calls for greater transparency and quality from legislators, funding agencies, and society are all posing challenges. This makes it all the more important for them to be able to make important decisions quickly and flexibly on the basis of solid data—for example, when managing resources, developing case numbers, or simply planning capacities. But this is where many institutions fail. Far too often, reports and business plans are based on manually maintained Excel spreadsheets or similar isolated solutions.

However, these methods are not only time-consuming and prone to errors, but also lack transparency. Information must be laboriously compiled, checked, and processed multiple times—often without a uniform database. And the resulting presentations, for example for decision-making, often remain incomplete, leading to delays. System-supported collaboration is still mostly the exception.

Role change in controlling

The solution is obvious: integrated, digital reporting would not only improve efficiency and data quality, but also fundamentally strengthen controlling—moving it toward an active, advisory role. With modern analytics and scenario-based planning models, it can accompany and shape decisions in real time. This turns retrospective analysis into a real management advantage and transforms the role from reporter to sparring partner for hospital management – and, in the future, to decision-making support at the ward level. Future-oriented controlling no longer provides mere actual figures, but simulates development paths: How do changes in case numbers affect revenues? How does a change in surgery planning influence staff utilization? This forward-looking control is made possible by new technologies and close integration with operational processes.

SAP Analytics Cloud and BW/4

Two key solutions from the SAP portfolio form the backbone of this: BW/4 Hana and the Analytics Cloud (SAC). SAP BW/4 serves as a powerful, central data management platform. It bundles information from various systems—such as hospital information systems (HIS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, and medical technology—into an integrated, powerful real-time data model. This harmonizes previously separate data worlds and makes them available in a uniform format at any time.

Building on this, SAP Analytics Cloud simplifies data presentation. Reports can be visualized, analyses performed, and complex planning models created on a single interface—without changing systems or manual intermediate steps. Departments can work interactively with the data: simulate scenarios, create forecasts, or prepare data-based strategic decisions, for example, on personnel planning or case cost development. For hospitals that already use SAP ERP, SAC is a natural extension of the existing foundation.

One particular advantage is its broad accessibility: even non-technical users—such as nursing service managers, operating room coordinators, or chief physicians—can access decision-relevant key figures via dashboards. Data flows to where it is needed. This close connection between technology and customized processes creates a new understanding of control. Data flows faster, correlations become visible, and decisions can be made in a targeted manner with a measurable impact on cost-effectiveness and quality of care.
Two clinics, two approaches

Among others, large healthcare organizations in Germany are benefiting from this. In practice, a leading university hospital and a district hospital network are using these solutions. The network, for example, used Ontron to consolidate several ERP systems on an S/4 platform, while the existing HIS systems continued to run unchanged. The successful upgrade paved the way for the next step—the rollout of SAC.

Since then, data from different systems and facilities has been flowing into a central location for the first time—a milestone that did not exist there before. The university hospital, in turn, was the first of its kind in Germany to introduce SAC as a planning tool to optimize controlling processes. Now, those responsible can create real-time reports and precise analyses without manual Excel work. Customizable dashboards in SAC provide decision-makers with relevant information at the touch of a button. Monthly reports, forecasts, and business plans are created without manual secondary systems.

Controlling is increasingly evolving from purely retrospective data processing to a strategic consulting unit that actively participates in the design of clinical processes based on real-time data. The technologies required for this have long been available: SAP BW/4 and SAP Analytics Cloud provide powerful tools that enable analysis, planning, and visualization in an integrated environment. The path to this new form of control does not have to be long or complicated – often, a clearly defined use case and close cooperation between IT and the specialist department are enough to take the first successful step toward data-driven hospital management.

Three takeaways

Firstly, controlling today means consulting—in real time and on an equal footing with hospital management. Secondly, SAP technologies enable data-driven scenarios with immediate benefits. Thirdly, getting started is feasible—with clear objectives and cross-departmental collaboration.

Source: Ontron