Hospitals from across the world are facing increased pressure to improve operations from multiple directions. Legal requirements, an aging population in many developed countries, and an ever-increasing need to be service-oriented are forcing hospitals to do more with less. Even with recent investments in information technology, much of the data has not been coordinated, analyzed or deployed to improve operational performance. What is needed is a new generation of business intelligence (BI) tools and applications designed with the health care sector in mind, capable of integrating cross and inter-departmental processes and information. The resulting intelligence would enable hospitals to make better operating decisions, increase transparency, change business processes, and drive better overall performance. Those that learn to effectively harness the information generated by their IT systems will enjoy substantial productivity improvements.