As healthcare shifts from volume to value, patient care coordination across providers, locations and conditions is vital to producing the best possible outcomes.
Clinical data integration can help hospitals and health systems achieve effective care coordination. However, it requires analyzing clinical data from EHRs, claims and cost information, and other collected data to find useful information for decision-making.
During the Becker's Hospital Review 8th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable Nov. 11 in Chicago, panelists discussed how to achieve successful clinical integration and efficiently gather the right data.
Panelists were:
- Amy Compton-Phillips, MD, executive vice president and chief clinical officer of Renton, Wash.-based Providence
- Shawn McBride, vice president/general manager of WaveMark™ Supply Management & Workflow Solutions at Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal Health
- Nancy Vish, PhD, RN, president and CNO of Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital Dallas and Fort Worth
Four takeaways from the panelists:
1. Creating an effective strategy for gathering data in key specialty lines and other areas is essential for successful clinical data integration, according to panelists. To inform this strategy, cardiovascular surgeons, cardiologists and rehab employees at Providence formed a clinical institute. "We really let them set the vision and we built this trusted network of our leaders. Once they told us what they wanted to know, then we started with the data systems and figured out how we collect the data and have it be the right data," Dr. Compton-Phillips explained. "Now the institute craves reports because they're using them to make substantive changes in the way they deliver care so we can constantly get better."
2. Before focusing on data, Mr. McBride recommended that hospitals think through the problem they are trying to solve — whether it be staff burnout or another issue — and define the questions they are trying to get answered through the data. He also recommended that hospitals not make decisions around product standardization by only looking at cost and not clinical and financial outcomes. "That's where we've seen the stall with health systems. The data isn't what you wanted. It's not telling the story you expected and everyone loses momentum," he said.
3. Hospitals have various technologies at their disposal for gathering and analyzing data. But Dr. Vish said the people entering the data play a crucial role in data analytics. For example, if the person entering discharge location doesn't understand the difference between discharged home, to a skilled nursing facility, rehabilitation and home health, the data won't be accurate. "You can end up going down a bunny trail if you don't have the right data and analytics when in the end the source of error was a person," said Dr. Vish.
4. Panelists agreed that the clinical and technology sides of the organization need to work together on clinical integration. Without this collaborative approach, additional time may be spent going back and forth to get the data that is needed to make the best decisions for patients.