In today’s healthcare arena, data is abundant, but usage of that data is key to organizational transformation. Broward Health has embraced the digital evolution and by doing so is on the path to revolutionized patient care.
“Broward Health is focusing on using analytics to deliver actionable data,” said Kathy Ross, chief information officer, Broward Health. “We are using analytics at the bedside to improve our care delivery. In finance we are better enabling the organization to prepare for the continued shift to value/quality healthcare.”In the past year, Broward Health’s IT has partnered with the Finance Department to develop multiple dashboards to increase the visibility of its business. Broward Health can now visualize the data to improve analysis and decision making. The real-time dashboards help reduce data duplicates, as well as standardize data elements and analysis. The dashboards allow for increased productivity and highlight areas that need focus, which in turn supports improvements in patient care operations.
“In medicine, the spotlight tends to shine on the technological advances we see in front of our eyes all the time – the robotic procedures and advances in gene targeted therapy, to name a few,” said Kennth Zilnick, M.D., cardiologist and chair of pharmacy and therapeutics at Broward Health Medical Center. “However, behind the scenes we continue to develop intelligent systems that integrate our networks and analyze data in real time with a mission to guide our therapy, and continue to enhance patient outcomes.”
Broward Health has prioritized its enterprise strategy around patient flow logistics. Information Technology partnered with clinicians and operational leaders to completely shift the ownership and accountability for patient throughput. The goal was to have one centralized location for patient entry and provide timely placement of patients in the most effective care setting. The availability of daily scorecards allowed for transparent visualization on agreed upon metrics, with the ability to focus on opportunities in a timely manner.
“We have made great strides with data capture and analytics to enhance our clinical decision support within our electronic health record system,” said Katy Branch, clinical pharmacy and research systems manager, Broward Health. “This data provides Broward Health’s clinicians the information they need to target process improvement efforts in the highest impact areas. We now have focused visibility to both value and nuisance alerts. We can see every alert fired, who it fired for, when it alerted and the clinician’s response.”
The data has already shown its value. Clinicians are reporting enhanced provider experience and patient safety through the captured information.
At a recent Board of Commissioners meeting, Michael Morrison, M.D., chief of staff at Broward Health Medical Center, shared that he has seen results with the implementation of the patient throughput software. He expressed that it has drastically reduced the number of patients leaving without being seen in the Emergency Department, therefore providing more efficient patient care.
Broward Health has realized the value of actionable data and incorporating it into daily operations. But even as Broward Health celebrates its recent IT successes, it is cognizant that technological innovation will bring new challenges and opportunities to healthcare. With a willingness to change and be part of the continued digital revolution, Broward Health and the greater healthcare industry will find greater opportunities for patient care.
