Healthcare business analysts play a pivotal role in widening the profit base of healthcare facilities. They have grown popular over the years, with several facilities engaging their services to optimize performance.
However, these professionals are often taken through rigorous assessments before they are employed, owing to the unique nature of the field involved. This article looks at some of the commonly asked questions in healthcare business analyst interviews to give a clear idea of what to expect when called for an interview.
1. Why Are You Interested in This Role?
I am passionate about working with medical facilities geared towards bettering communities. Given that this is a community-based health facility, I can use my experience to help identify problems and boost different areas to optimize performance and widen your profit base.
2. What Are Some of The Roles of a Healthcare Business Analyst?
A healthcare business analyst identifies problems and areas that need improvement in a healthcare facility to optimize performance and create more profits. He/ she assesses all the facility’s financial activities and comes up with the best approaches to save on costs and further maximize profits.
3. What Are Some of The Qualities That a Healthcare Business Analyst Needs to Have to Be Effective?
A healthcare business analyst should have excellent analytical and mathematical skills, owing to the nature of the job at hand. He/ she should be a good time manager and possess knowledge of data management systems and analysis tools. Other qualities include passion and empathy, given the work environment.
4. What Major Challenge Did You Face During Your Last Role and How Did You Manage It?
Given my passion for community-based health facilities, I took up a role in a start-up facility. I was the first healthcare business analyst, given that it had not been around for long. They did not have a variety of analysis software and tools, which impaired my operation. I organized a meeting with the finance department and explained why some of the missing software and tools were necessary. They directed me to come up with a definitive list, which they presented to the top management, and everything was ready in a week.
5. Describe Your Daily Routine as a HealthCare Business Analyst
I report early to work and go through my work’s email and choose what to answer or schedule for later. The rest of my day is spent defining issue and establishing areas that need improvement. I work with my team to break down huge problems into small manageable chunks.
I conduct research and gather data before engaging the team in reviewing findings and exploring different potential solutions. I also spare thirty minutes after the close of business to go through business analysis blogs and journals.
6. Describe Briefly About Your Experience
I have worked in seven different institutions in ten years. I have vast experience in using different computer software and mathematical models to test variables and build different models. I have also engaged different teams over the years, which has taught me a lot about drafting viable health policies and arriving at different money-saving solutions.
7. What Kind of Strategies and Mindset Is Required for This Role?
The healthcare industry is quite technical since any recommendation must be made with the quality of patient care in mind. The best strategy for coming up with accurate decisions and recommendations is engaging a team. As for the mindset, this job requires a result-oriented person since a healthcare business analyst’s primary role is to optimize performance while creating more profit for the facility.
8. What Major Challenge Do You Foresee in This Job?
Given that your healthcare facility serves a large region, the biggest challenge will be the workload. However, I have vast experience working with referral hospitals, which makes me optimistic that I will handle whatever comes my way. I have also established that your facility is adequately staffed, and therefore, putting up a team will not be a challenge. I have also learnt to prioritize work over the years, which comes in handy when dealing with a huge workload.
9. How Do You Stay Motivated at Work?
Nothing motivates me more than success. I have always worked hard to achieve good results since my first day as a healthcare business analyst. I have worked on a culture of never giving up. I also create mini-deadlines for myself, which I must achieve. Lastly, I believe in taking some time off to meditate or walk whenever I experience burnout. This helps me refocus on the task at hand and work on it to the best of my ability.
10. Describe a Time You Failed in This Role and The Lesson You Learned
I was once paired with a team, which I did not care to test their ability. I delegated tasks to every individual member and gave them deadlines hoping that they would meet them. Most of them did not, and those who submitted did a shoddy job, forcing me to handle ¾ of the work. This experience taught me to gauge my team before delegating duties or, better yet, put up a team individually. I also learnt to check up on them regularly to avoid last-minute disappointments.
11. Do You Understand the Difference Between a Medical and Hospital Claim?
In medical claims, the insurer or payer receives claims from a physician about the latter’s service to a patient or the subscriber of the insurance company. In contrast, the insurance company receives a request from the hospital for the services rendered to a patient in hospital claims.
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12. Do You Know the Importance of Using Case Diagrams?
It is imperative that a business analyst understands the business, how it works, and how it flows. He/ she must also know how to explain this to other teams, be it in word or pictorial form. Case diagrams play a significant role in explaining the business ideas and flow in pictorial form. It captures changes that occur in the entire process of project development that he/ she can communicate to different teams working on the project.
13. What Tools Do You Normally Use in Your Work and What Are Some of The Important Technologies Used In your Domain?
Analysis requires several tools, which I am proficient in. some of the most common include MS Excel, MS Word and HP ALM tool, which comes in handy for requirements and test case documentation. I also have vast knowledge and experience with the SQL server, where I have managed to write several queries for accessing database tables.
As for terminologies in the healthcare domain, words such as Class, Plan, Procedure Codes, Revenue Codes, Medical Claims, Physicians, Hospital Claims and Diagnosis Codes are used repeatedly. Others are providers and products.
14. As a Healthcare Business Analyst, You Are Definitely Going to Work with a Number of Individuals. How Do You Handle a Difficult Stakeholder?
I understand that stakeholders have different personalities, and one has to be persuasive when dealing with some. I’d first determine why the stakeholder is mad or difficult and tackle the issue once I know why. This is through understanding their concerns and crafting a measured and reasonable response to address their issues. I will also include valid data in my responses to be more persuasive.
15. Are You Familiar with SQL Queries? Tell Us About the Different Parts of an SQL statement.
I am familiar with SQL queries, having used them to access database tables. An SQL statement has only three parts. These are the Data Definition Language, shortened as DDL, the Data Manipulation Language (DML) and the Data Control Language, known as the DCL.
16. What Do You Consider the Most Critical Aspect of Analytical Reporting?
I believe that the most critical aspect of any analytical reporting is the ability to solve problems and make decisions based on evidence rather than hearsay, unsupported predictions, guesses and assumptions. Several people have argued that data alone cannot solve problems, which I agree with. However, it offers you the tools to arrive at well-reasoned decisions that can be easily explained and justified even if what you envisaged does not occur. It is better than making decisions based on assumptions.
17. Have You Ever Influenced a Client into Taking a Different Course of Action from The One They Had in Mind?
Before I joined the healthcare industry, I was a general business analyst working for different corporations. I once came across a client who intended to expand a product line for the store even though they were visibly struggling to sell most of the products in the product line. I had to use a detailed sales analysis and their profit and loss statement to explain to them why expanding their product line should not be a priority. Instead, I suggested that they reduce some of the products they were selling since only a tiny percentage was profitable for the business.
18. What Are Some of The Diagrams That You Use in Your Career and How Are They Important?
I usually use a number of charts and diagrams to document findings and progress as well as communicate to the team. The first one is the flowchart, which offers a visual representation of a given system, breaking it down for clients. I also prepare activity diagrams, which show different activities in different departments, and last Use Case diagrams. These capture the people who interact with the different systems and what they achieve from the systems.
19. How Would You Influence Different Stakeholders and Convince Them to Jump on Your Project?
I believe in stakeholder buy-in if one wants to realize a successful project. Therefore, I always strive to lead discussions with stakeholders about their expectations before delving deeper into the project. I also uncover their priorities to understand and emphasize the different parts of the projects that will meet their goals. After summarizing the critical aspects of market research and risk analysis, I use the STAR method to develop responses for some of the problems put forward by the clients and stakeholders.
20. A Healthcare Facility Wanted to Set Up an Entire Wing to Combat an Oncoming Infection That Occurs Only Once After Five Years. How Would You Convince the Directors?
I’d convince the directors that it is a bad idea since the wing will end up closed once the infection has passed, proving to be a useless venture. However, I would encourage them to build a multipurpose ward that will be used for other diseases even after the infection has passed.
21. Could You Please Explain the Business Analysis Process Flow?
It begins with information gathering followed by key stakeholder identification, identifying the business objective, determining available options, defining scope, defining the delivery plan, defining project requirements and finally, implementation and evaluation.
22. What Is a Feasibility Study?
A feasibility study identifies the success rate of a proposed idea of a business problem; It is also done to identify new opportunities.
23. Do You Understand the Components of Strategy Analysis?
To come up with strategic plans for an organization, one must take into account the vision, mission, objectives, strategies and action plan for the organization.
24. As a Business Analyst, How Do You Analyze Performance Metrics?
To analyze performance metrics, I focus on whether the deliverables have been met, whether the project adhered to the planned budget and time scope and whether it delivered quality deliverables.
25. What Do You Understand by Gap Analysis?
Gap analysis is one of the most common techniques in business analysis used to study and analyze existing gaps between the intended and existing systems without forgetting their functionalities. One can also use it to assess the performance level between the current and goal functionalities.
Conclusion
These are some of the most frequently asked questions in healthcare business analyst interviews. I hope that you have learnt a thing or two about what to expect in such interviews. Ensure that you come up with good responses to ace your interview.
