Using Data to Manage Physician Practices More Effectively
Managing a physician practice organization is challenging. With a seemingly never-ending “state of change” pertaining to regulatory and clinical requirements, payer rules, and technology advancing at a rapid pace – the requirements can be exhaustive. Today, the physician organization produces and utilizes healthcare related data at a never-before-seen rate – and the trend is expected to continue. The ability to access and utilize the data will support physicians and managers in making decision re: the business operations, clinical services, financial investments and strategic decisions.
Data analytics can be transformative for any size practice organization. But the process and capability to access meaningful, actionable data analytics can be intimidating. The terabytes of information needed by the organization’s leaders and decision makers / influences can come from various points of access, platforms, touchpoints which supports the need for information pertaining to practice patients operational and financial performance and the strategic need for future investment.
“While the amount of data available can be daunting, the analytics to transform it into meaningful, actionable intel is an essential component to a successful physician practice organization,” says Kelvin Drawdy, Partner at JHD Healthcare Partners.
Key Data Elements to Measure
“Over our 25-year history, and conducting countless physician group turnarounds, there are five key areas to focus data analytics,” continues Drawdy.
1. Clinical Data. The clinical data of the practice is an essential part of developing a meaningful analytics strategy. The EHR houses most information pertaining to patient health and clinical services - obtained from direct entry by the providers and via interface from clinical systems and technologies. Analytics which incorporate this data will support Insight into services, utilization, health and outcomes and acuity of patients. The data also supports practice capabilities to manage and participate successfully in value and quality-based arrangements.
2. Practice Management System: Data within the PMS includes scheduling, appointment utilization, claims, payments, denial trends and most information pertaining to interaction with 3rd party payers including referral and authorization related activities. The PMS data within the analytics platform supports ability to optimize in terms of patient’s access to services, schedule and resource efficiency, and improving financial performance. The PMS data also provides a source of comparative data to support participation in, and settlement of, cost and quality-based arrangements with 3rd party payers.
3. Patient Satisfaction Data: Analyzing how patients feel about the care experience at your practice is essential to ensuring a successful physician practice. The problem is this may be the hardest area to receive data, and there are so many different data analytics services to gather this data, like Press Ganey. But, creating an environment where patients are satisfied with their experiences, means they are likely to return and recommend you to others. And, understanding more clearly what patients want, what they expect, and what their responses indicate they are willing to participate in and support can provide meaning insight and support creative approaches to services and decision making regarding strategic investments.
4. Physician Satisfaction Data: Physician burnout, and decisions to exit healthcare practice, is higher than ever, and part of the reason is because measuring how satisfied they are with their jobs and roles isn’t a standard metric practices measure. The insights received when physicians are regularly surveyed is invaluable for the practice and patients.
5. Financial and Operational: Data from sources including financial reporting systems, time and attendance, compensation, and others are increasingly supportive of an organization’s desire to incorporate cost, resource and staffing into the data analytics platforms. This information, combined with other sources supports ability to increase operational efficient, patient satisfaction, and overall clinical and financial performance of the practice.
Conclusion:
Healthcare data analytics is a powerful capability that can help healthcare providers and managers to unlock the power of their data to guide innovations in services, investment in technologies and to sustainably improve patient health and satisfaction. By investing in, and utilizing, robust analytics capabilities and services even smaller practice organizations can effectively manage the challenges of a changing healthcare landscape.
Investing in capabilities and services to analyze and measure data pertaining to their practice organization, operational and clinical leaders will enhance their ability to make and manage day-to-day and strategic level decisions in a manner that provides benefit and supports positive outcomes clinically and financially for the practice organization and its patients.
Managing a physician practice through an analytical framework takes a lot of up-front work to bring all the data points together. JHD Healthcare Partners can help set your practice up with its Blitz, a 1–3-week assessment that includes gathering and analyzing your available data and provides a cohesive reporting system. Contact us today.