The New Jersey Hospital Association announced plans for a new data and informatics center to better understand the state's health challenges and the economics of healthcare.
Here are four things to know:
1. The NJHA Center for Health Analytics, Research and Transformation, also known as CHART, will utilize analytics and predictive modeling to identify underlying healthcare problems and work with association members to explore possible solutions.
2. Sean Hopkins will spearhead the initiative as senior vice president of CHART. NJHA's Chief Information Officer Joe Carrwill will also share additional expertise on data analytics and health information technology and policy.
3. One CHART project will use data to identify areas of the state with high populations of patients with chronic conditions and provide targeted support and programming to help community health.
4. CHART will also produce white papers, bulletins, reports, policy recommendations and roundtable discussions to further foster dialogue on healthcare improvement.
"So many of the problems we see in healthcare today — racial and ethnic disparities, access to care barriers, variations in use of healthcare services, variables in access and funding of prevention and wellness — require a deeper dive into why," NJHA President and CEO Cath Bennett said in a news release. "One of the ways we get closer to answering that question is to have solid data that shows us the root causes of these problems. We can then support design of solutions that address the foundation of the problem, rather than the symptoms."