Increasing access to care has become a key focus for many healthcare executives in recent years, including Dalton Douglas, vice president of business intelligence and population health at Lone Star Circle of Care.
Lone Star Circle of Care is a federally qualified community health center and nonprofit based in Georgetown, Texas. The center has 14 locations throughout the state.
Mr. Douglas recently spoke with Becker's about his goals for 2024, the biggest trends in healthcare and how he hopes to see the industry evolve this year.
Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What are one or two goals you've set for yourself in your role in 2024?
Dalton Douglas: In 2024, we will be transitioning to a new EHR. As such, the overarching goal for the year is to ensure there is continuity of data reporting and analysis to improve patient care. That includes mapping of our data sources to the data warehouse, which will serve as the single source of truth for enterprisewide analytics.
Q: What are the biggest trends you are following in healthcare today?
DD: The biggest trends I'm monitoring are how [artificial intelligence] will augment the care delivery system and ensure the care being provided is high quality, equitable and also affordable to all who need it. Additionally, utilizing data across the ecosystem; hospital [admission, discharge, transfer notifications], eligibility, claims and [social determinants of health] to obtain a holistic, longitudinal view of the patient's continuum of care.
Q: How do you hope to see the healthcare industry evolve in 2024? What changes do you wish to be made?
DD: For 2024, I hope to see everyone has access to high-quality care, from patients in rural underserved areas to patients in urban settings. The body of research is abundant to all providers, and as such, the care provided should not be relegated to the privileged few. For 2024, I will devote all my energy in contributing to improving the health of the population we are able to serve, while lowering the total cost of care.