Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health, formed from the merger of Advocate Aurora Health, dually headquartered in Milwaukee and Downers Grove, Ill., and Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health, has embarked on a journey of data integration to ensure seamless operations and optimal healthcare outcomes.
When Advocate Health was created in December 2022, the 69-hospital system became the third-largest nonprofit health system in the U.S., bringing a significant amount of data.
Before the merger's official day one, Tina Esposito, senior vice president and chief data officer at Advocate Health, began by identifying crucial questions and setting clear expectations regarding data and team performance for the merging entities.
"We needed to understand what the first month, week and 90 days would look like," Ms. Esposito told Becker's.
This phase involved a deep dive into existing systems and processes, identifying key stakeholders and understanding legacy needs that had to be maintained during the transition.
"It's about ensuring you're very clear and thoughtful in what questions you should be asking," she said.
Navigating integration hurdles
Integrating data from Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health presented some hurdles, particularly because the two entities operated on different EMR and ERP systems. This meant merging data from two discrete systems.
Beyond technical hurdles, change management and consensus-building were large priorities for the new organization.
"It's about bringing legacy leaders together to provide a consensus on a new way," Ms. Esposito said.
At Advocate Health, this involved redefining key metrics and outcomes to ensure consistency across the new health system.
"It's a time-intensive process, but well worth it in the end," Ms. Esposito said.
Building the modern data platform
A central element of Advocate Health's integration strategy is its vision for a modern data platform.
"The modern data platform is an enabling entity in pulling things together from an enterprise perspective," Ms. Esposito said. "It's about modernizing our data to leverage it for advanced analytics, AI and data science."
Future goals
Looking ahead, Advocate Health is focused on aligning data initiatives with strategic organizational goals.
"We need to ensure that we're enabling ourselves in a way that's going to allow the organization to achieve its strategic vision," Ms. Esposito said.
This includes enhancing operational data use and supporting AI initiatives.
"Our data and analytic leaders are working on creating a framework for responsible AI," she said.
The team is addressing critical issues such as how to define AI at Advocate Health, assess its impact and evaluate the effectiveness of AI tools.