From data to decisions: challenges experienced by Flemish hospitals

Abstract

Healthcare organizations increasingly aspire to use data to improve care quality, patient safety, and efficiency. Yet, translating this ambition into everyday practice remains complex. This paper presents initial findings from a study on data-driven decision making (DDDM) in Flemish hospitals. Through 28 semi-structured interviews with department heads and head nurses from eight types of departments across nine hospitals, we explored how frontline managers experience the move towards more data-informed ways of working in clinical, managerial, and organizational decision contexts at the department level. Using thematic analysis, five recurrent challenge areas were identified: (1) fragmented data infrastructures and systems, (2) data quality and reliability, (3) data literacy and accessibility, (4) organizational and cultural resistance, and (5) regulatory and financial constraints. These challenge areas illustrate how technical, human, and organizational factors jointly shape hospitals' DDDM maturity. The findings show that progress towards DDDM remains uneven across departments, reflecting an ongoing transformation that requires not only technological investment but also cultural readiness and shared responsibility for data use.