Leveraging Lab Data
Seamlessly Linking Disparate Systems
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
PHM
Leveraging Lab Data
Lab values are responsible for 60 to 70 percent of all critical clinical decision-making such as admittance , discharge , and medication , according to one highly cited study . Lab results , however , are only recently being fully leveraged with other patient data from the EHR , claims , patient portals , disease registries and other sources to better understand patient behaviors and predict outcomes . This applies to a single patient , but also for populations as well .
For example , a provider organization can leverage patient lab data , as well as metadata such as zip code , gender and age group to identify trends among similar patients over the last 10 years . In collaboration with their technology partners , physicians can develop analytic models based on that data to target designated patient populations and the associated reporting requirements of any value-based care program .
To be useful for clinical decision making , lab values and other data need to be
Pranam Ben
updated in real-time , or as timely as possible . Timeliness can be a challenge when CINs depend on laboratory testing ordered by physicians outside their organization , where results can take days to weeks to obtain . Rather , organizations need near-instant access to lab and other data from throughout the care continuum so they can ensure that individual interventions as well as at-risk population trend analysis is accurate and reliable .
Seamlessly Linking Disparate Systems
Whether capturing values from a single internal lab or a large , nationally respected lab company , organizations need a centralized virtual location for accessing data and analytics to drive physicians ’ decisions . That is where population health management technology plays an essential role .
CINs that are already fully integrated across a single EHR platform in their hospitals , clinics and rehabilitation centers may have an advantage in that they only need to integrate one such system with a population health management tool . Few CINs , such as those that were created exclusively for accountable care organization ( ACO ) programs , are all technologically aligned in this way . For instance , ACOs formed from independent physician practices and medical groups , and perhaps a community hospital , may face a major
35 TODAY ’ S PRACTICE : CHANGING THE BUSINESS OF MEDICINE