"We're at a time in healthcare where we have copious amounts of data from different sources," says Rich Roth, vice president of strategic innovation at San Francisco-based Dignity Health. "The key is now figuring out how to use it."
To Mr. Roth, there are two main goals for data analytics. The first is population management and the ability to look at large amounts of data and obtain a better understanding of the population served and any interventions that may be needed. The second is at the point of care, and ensuring clinicians have the right data at the right time to interact with the patient successfully and make well-informed care decisions.
Both of these objectives, however, require healthcare organizations to come together to share information in a meaningful way. "We need to lift the walls of data to ensure all relevant information is available to providers, whether through a health information exchange or online portal, and the doctors have all the information they need," says Mr. Roth. "That will be the 'secret sauce' when it comes to data analytics."
Mr. Roth offers the example of SharedClarity — a collaboration between Dignity Health, Dallas-based Baylor Health Care System, Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care and UnitedHealthcare — to study the long-term effectiveness of implanted medical devices by sharing administrative, claims and clinical data.
"There exists no data today that can tell a physician or a patient whether a specific implant or device has a real quality difference over another one," says Mr. Roth. "All the device manufacturers have done research, but being able to truly compare these devices is challenging."
SharedClarity will use patient data from all the participating organizations to examine specific devices' impacts on lengths of stay, readmissions and infection rates as well as longer-term outcomes such as lasting pain and the patients' physical abilities. "We're looking to gather a robust set of information on these devices that can be provided to clinicians to help them make better choices," says Mr. Roth.
The first set of findings from SharedClarity will be completed in the near future, and Mr. Roth is optimistic about the program's results. "Hopefully we'll have some evidence-based data on these devices to share, data we just haven't had before," he says.
Dignity Health's forays into accountable care organizations have also focused on engaging in open data exchange to improve care. The system's Sacramento, Calif.-based ACO, a collaboration with Blue Shield of California and Hill Physicians, shares data extensively, giving each organization access to the data essential to perform meaningful analytics.
"I think the ACO we have in Sacramento is really focused on the concept of using an open health information exchange in order to make sure population data is shared," says Mr. Roth. "Essentially, we've created a narrow network where information flows between our organizations through an HIE, allowing us to drive improvement and meet our cost, quality and service metrics."
The ACO has seen a 26 percent drop in readmissions and a 7 percent decrease in lengths of stay, and the organization was able to return about $50 million in savings to CalPERS. "It really is all about effective collaboration," says Mr. Roth. "It's about sharing data so everyone can see a 360 degree view of the patient so they can effectively engage."
Mr. Roth believes having this type of open exchange among healthcare providers across the country would have tremendous benefits for patient care. Once data exchange increases, "we could take out the data we needed and analyze it, and then develop scorecards and benchmarks for clinicians, who could easily take a look at a variety of intervention options," he says.
Some healthcare organizations have invested significantly in their internal infrastructure and have been able to deliver cost-effective, high-quality care as a relatively isolated entity, says Mr. Roth. "Over time, we'll see which model creates the most value and achieves the goal of providing the best care," he says.
At Dignity Health, however, the choice is clear. "We believe the patient owns their data, and that data needs to be available whenever they need to make a healthcare decision," he says. Dignity supports sharing data is the key to providing hospitals and clinicians with information that is "meaningful, actionable and helps improve people's lives."
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