Kassim Hussein, Head of Enterprise Analytics at Cleveland Clinic London, shares how he overcame an internal skills shortage to set up the clinic’s data and analytics function



When Kassim Hussein was offered the chance to build the analytics function for US-based hospital group Cleveland Clinic’s new UK arm, he jumped at the opportunity. As Head of Enterprise Analytics at Cleveland Clinic London, he’d gain leadership experience while sinking his teeth into an exciting new challenge.



“I realized this is a chance to start a new healthcare system, from scratch, in London,” Hussein recalls. “You’re not going to get this opportunity many times in your life!”



But as Hussein says in this week’s Business of Data podcast episode, the COVID-19 pandemic created unexpected challenges as he set to work establishing the new data and analytics unit.



Overcoming a Skills Shortage with Vendor Support



Cleveland Clinic is a US-based hospital group that also specializes in medical research. Its outpatient center was opened in Marylebone in September. This will be followed by a 184-bed hospital next year.



Before the center could open its doors, one of Hussein’s first priorities was to set up an enterprise data warehouse (EDW). This would help the organization capture key strategic data sources in one governed location that would also feed self-service analytics tools.



Hussein says working virtually with different vendors was a challenge. But he also says doing so was essential to address the limited resources his team had in-house.



“Because of GDPR, we had to build our own processes, working with vendors to make sure we have the right capabilities from day one,” he recalls. “Remember, I joined the team virtually and this came with many challenges. I was lucky that we had a big project support team (based in Cleveland, USA) and some contractors. But finding the right local skills was the biggest challenge.”



“We use [e-health cloud-based software] Epic for our medical records management system,” Hussein continues. “It’s an American tool. So, only a few healthcare providers use it in the UK. Finding someone with the standard BI skills and experience plus knowledge about Epic is near impossible.”



“Because of the nature of our situation, one has to get their hands dirty to cover the internal skills gap,” Hussein adds. “It’s a bit of a hybrid role, right now. So, I have to do SQL scripting [and] Tableau visualizations. I’m leading big meetings with stakeholders, but I’m loving it.”



“If we want to make London more attractive to BI analysts, we would have to invest in training and development,” Hussein adds. “The analysts also need to be interested in upskilling themselves.”



Next Steps for Analytics at Cleveland Clinic London



With the hospital’s basic analytics systems up and running, Hussein says the next step is laying the foundations Cleveland Clinic London will need to branch out into AI and machine learning.



“The data quality has to be really accurate; if we want to build models, the data has to be fit for purpose,” Hussein says. “We want to understand the data lineage and we need a genuine u