by Dr. James Occhiogrosso | Jul 29, 2019 | Healthcare |
It would seem logical that newly-minted physicians entering the medical workplace would expect that some level of performance monitoring would apply. However, this complex and ever-changing world of hospital and physician performance measurement often makes the young medical practitioner apprehensive and questioning.
Are such measurements in the context of pay-for-performance (or non-performance), or in a quality improvement and educational context? How are physicians being measured? And is the data that is being used for measurement trustworthy? Let’s examine some of the issues surrounding physician performance measurement and how technology can help create a more trustworthy measurement environment.
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by Kathy Sucich | Jul 19, 2019 | Healthcare |
Today, HIMSS Analytics and Dimensional Insight released some surprising new survey results about the state of clinical analytics at healthcare organizations. While most organizations say they are using analytics in clinical areas, reality shows that purely clinical projects are not a top focus area for most hospitals and health systems.
In fact, the survey revealed that only 1 in 5 healthcare organizations (21.6%) is using analytics for population health. What else did the survey reveal? Let’s take a look. (more…)
by Kathy Sucich | Jul 11, 2019 | Healthcare |
Healthcare spending in the United States is now $3.5 trillion, or nearly $11,000 per person. While hospital care and physician services comprise the bulk of that cost, pharmaceutical prices are responsible for 10% of the total cost – to the tune of $333.4 billion or more than $1,000 per capita.
When we talk about ways to reduce healthcare spending, finding ways to reduce pharmaceutical prices is always a top priority. Why is this such a hot button issue? What steps are being taken? How can data and analytics help? Let’s examine in this week’s “Hot Topic” blog post.
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by Kathy Sucich | Jul 8, 2019 | Healthcare |
A hospital’s surgery department is often its biggest driver of revenue. As such, it’s important that surgical procedures start and end on time and are appropriately staffed. It’s also important that surgical rooms are turned around quickly and that surgery departments are minimally impacted by unexpected procedures.
Many surgery departments aren’t running at peak efficiency, but hospital administration is unclear as to the drivers of inefficiency. How can administrators better understand how to optimize the performance of their surgery departments? Here’s a look at some challenges and how surgery analytics can help.
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by Teddy Craven | Jul 1, 2019 | Healthcare |
Around 2004, the term “Web 2.0” began to take off as a way of describing a foundational shift in the way that users interacted with the Internet. Web 1.0 describes the static interface of the 1990s with its lack of interoperability and sites mostly connected by hyperlinks. This was turned on its head with the rise of sites that were interoperable, easy-to-use, and promoted user content. This transformation, in conjunction with hardware changes like 2005’s iPhone, stimulated the growth of social media sites and apps. (more…)
by Kathy Sucich | Jun 14, 2019 | Healthcare |
The price of healthcare. It’s a hot-button issue for many Americans, and a costly one too. Statistics from the Commonwealth Fund show Americans pay a median of $3,700 each year in premium contributions and out-of-pocket healthcare expenses combined.
With the cost of healthcare so high, consumers should be able to make meaningful decisions about their care and the prices they are willing to pay. But the current system doesn’t allow for much price transparency. There are now many efforts to change that. Let’s examine in this week’s “Hot Topic” blog post. (more…)
by Teddy Craven | Jun 10, 2019 | Healthcare |
In the world of value-based reimbursement, health system CFOs are finding it harder and harder to deny the cost-saving and quality improvement opportunities of health IT outsourcing. According to a Zion Market Research, this market is expected to reach $73 billion by 2024 with a CAGR of 6.5%.
Along with value-based incentives to drive down costs, the health IT outsourcing market will be driven by a widespread lack of IT infrastructure and trained professionals in the healthcare space. Let’s take a look at the benefits, process, and challenges facing this growing industry.
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by Dr. James Occhiogrosso | Jun 6, 2019 | Healthcare |
In recent years, sophisticated technology has had a huge impact on the practices of most healthcare professionals. Gone are the days of racks full of patient record folders in a doctor’s office. Electronic health records (EHRs) have replaced paper records in most medical environments.
However, adaptation and acceptance of technology in healthcare has been fraught with difficulty. Some of this is due to fear of change from older personnel, but most is due to the sheer volume of data collected over years, especially as the systems mature. Let’s examine.
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by Kayla Chiara | May 30, 2019 | Healthcare |
They say you can’t replace the human touch, but many believe artificial intelligence (AI) is learning just how.
In Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again, Eric Topol examines AI’s role in healthcare and how we may be welcoming a new group of colleagues sooner than we think. Let’s take a look at “Deep Medicine” in today’s Dimensional Insight book club review. (more…)
by Kathy Sucich | May 22, 2019 | Healthcare |
What will healthcare look like in 2025? How about in the years beyond? What are the priorities for healthcare organizations in the next several years?
A look at the future of healthcare took center stage at the recent ACHE of Massachusetts Spring Conference. And despite all the challenges in healthcare today, the speakers at the conference are hopeful we will be able to tackle some big issues in the years ahead. Here’s a look at what we can expect and what we hope will happen by 2025. (more…)
