Why the Slow Adoption of Healthcare Analytics?

In our last post, we spoke of efforts to define effective quality metrics, yet that is only half the battle. Once physicians have collected data on the care they provide, they need to be able to run advanced analytics on that data in order to get any useful information. On this count, providers have yet to get up to speed.

While adoption of EHRs is increasing at a rapid rate, adoption of analytics technology has been much slower. A review conducted by HIMSS Analytics indicated that only about 30% of the nation’s hospitals use a clinical data warehousing or data mining tool. Adoption rates are lower at smaller hospitals.

“The main reason for this slow adoption is the fact that providers are being asked to do so much else right now,” said Ron Garnett, executive director, Patriot Labs. “As we continue to align our firm with the needs of providers, we find that many health care organizations are struggling to keep up with immediate compliance challenges – and as a result – are putting off key issues that directly impact their transition to accountable care.”

Furthermore, some providers aren’t aware of the limitations of the EHR systems they are implementing. They often assume that this one system will be able to accommodate all their data needs, but, in fact, most EHR systems have limited analytic capabilities. They also struggle when it comes to moving data between providers. An accountable care organization will need to be able to share data among hospitals, physician offices, labs and radiologists – EHRs can be a barrier to this type of data exchange.

Patriot Labs Health just released the Integrated Population Health Evaluation Framework. Ron points out that when you want to look at population health, you need to go to big data analytics that can bring in an unbelievable amount of data and turn it into information for the provider. The inability to analyze data may make it difficult for providers to succeed in a pay-for-performance world – analytics is the glue that supports the change to accountable care.

While few providers have the analytics technology in place to take full advantage of pay-for-performance programs, it is still important for them to start thinking about ACO models. The hardest part often is getting all the physicians on board, which is more of a cultural change than a technical one. Patriot Labs offers several baseline assessments and systematic data reviews that provide organizations with a well-defined roadmap for implementing advanced analytics and improving population health outcomes.

Graphic and portions of this article attributed to Ed Burns, TechTarget.
 

Follow us on Twitter: @ironSageGroup

About Patriot Labs Health

Patriot Labs Health is a premier provider of performance improvement, health information technology, and clinical transformation solutions for hospitals, health systems, and ACOs. By partnering with clients, Patriot Labs delivers solutions that improve quality, increase revenue, reduce expenses, and enhance physician, patient, and employee satisfaction across the healthcare enterprise. Client segments include leading national and regional integrated healthcare systems, academic medical centers, community hospitals and physician practices. Learn more at Patriot Labs Health or follow us on Twitter: @ironSageGroup.

About Patriot Labs

Patriot Labs helps clients in diverse industries leverage technology, transform the enterprise, develop business intelligence, integrate complex data, improve performance, reduce costs, optimize workflows process, and stimulate growth. Our professionals employ their expertise in strategy, technology, operations and business development to provide client-tailored services and solutions that deliver sustainable and measurable results.

Patriot Labs is committed to helping both innovative solution providers and enterprise clients succeed. For large enterprises, we dramatically accelerate delivery of industry innovations, nextgen technologies and transformational business solutions. For technology providers, we accelerate business development efforts, from market vision – to solution demonstration – to large customer acquisition. We counts as clients leading corporate enterprises, government agencies, research organizations, and emerging technology companies. Our technology development and deployment collaborations support a wide range of industries, including: education, energy, environment, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, pharma, transportation, and many more. To learn more about Patriot Labs, contact us: email | phone 202.643.4766 | twitter: @ironSageGroup

.

Source: Patriot Labs

Patriot Labs Media Contact:
Marlissa Hudson
marlissa@Patriot Labs.com

Patriot Labs Health Contact
Jed Batchelder
jed@Patriot Labs.com

# # #