Do Your Healthcare IT Systems Improve Outcomes and Cost? Prove It!

HISTalk Blog Time Capsule asks whether Hospital Healthcare IT Systems improve outcomes and reduce costs. They should. Here’s proof!

If you’re involved in Healthcare IT, you’re likely already a fan of the HISTalk Blog.  For those who aren’t,  HISTalk was started by a hospital clinical department head whose original intent was to collect his thoughts about what was going on in healthcare IT.   Since its humble launch in 2003, the site has grown to one of the most well-read resources for major industry developments, and today, visitors exceed the 5 million mark!

 

I read HISTalk every evening.  One of the features I find particularly interesting is: Time Capsule.  It reflects editorials “Mr HISTalk” wrote for an industry newsletter several years ago.   And what the old proverb says really is true in so many ways related to healthcare IT –  “the more things change, the more they stay the same!”

A recent Time Capsule post really caught my eye – Is Healthcare IT Really “The Right Thing to Do”? Prove it.  In was originally published in April 2007 and in it, vendors are challenged with this:

“Maybe today’s IT systems really do improve outcomes or cost. If so, then I challenge vendors to prove it and customers to demand that proof before buying their wares.”

It actually ruffled my feathers a bit, because at TeleTracking, our entire healthcare IT solution focus surrounds a clear and concise message – Better Operations. Healthier Bottom Line.   So, I thought, “H*!! yes, TeleTracking can take on that challenge.”

Here it is: TeleTracking’s proof that Healthcare IT systems do improve outcomes and cost:

Hospital Client	Proven Results
Methodist Healthcare System, TX	$51MM in transfer center net margin increase $2-$10MM annual operational efficiency Patient Length of Stay reduction from 5.2 to 3.81 days 13% increase in market share in 18 months
Mount Carmel Health System, OH	150 new transfer center patients monthly
Lehigh Valley Hospital, PA	73% decrease in transfer center declines
Mercy Medical Center, IA	20 minute reduction in ED placement times
Seton Healthcare, TX	40% decrease in bed request to bed assigned times
Advocate Good Samaritan, IL	53% decrease in bed request to bed assigned times
Denver Health, CO	92% reduction in ED diversion hours
Naples Community Hospital, FL	50% reduction in ED hold hours
Saint Vincent, MA	50% reduction in bed turnaround time 50% reduction in bed control calls
Pinnacle Health Systems, PA	90% reduction in EVS processing time Reduced calls for bed requests from 750 to 50
Children’s Medical Center, TX	Decreased bed request to bed assign time from 1 hour to 20 minutes/patient
Oklahoma University Medical Center	Transfer denials immediately decreased by over 50%
Methodist, IL	$812,500 savings in equipment purchases
Wayne Memorial,  PA	$300,000 savings in pump purchases Cut equipment rentals by 20%
Greater Baltimore Medical Center	Transport response times have decreased by 68% Average trip completion times dropped by 58% Discharge requests on the rise, growing by 64%, while response time to discharge requests has dropped by 49%.

It took a great deal of insight 20 years ago to recognize that there was a patient flow pattern within the continuum of care and that many of the steps in that flow could be automated and monitored for greater efficiency and better patient outcomes.    And it took faith to believe that hospitals would actually adopt technology that wasn’t diagnostic or therapeutic, but designed to make work flow better.

We prove it with economic outcomes at our clients every day.  And while our products improve the business of healthcare quite significantly, we take our greatest pride in how they improve the purpose of healthcare — to help people get better.

One challenge we often face as vendors is reluctance on the part of many hospitals to publish their results.  Even though the documented outcomes are a statement of fact concerning the solutions installed and the results achieved, hospital Legal Affairs and Public Relations departments often step in to prevent publication – citing this as a violation of their endorsement of vendor products or services policies.

The other problem is – to claim the “after” results, one must first confess the “before” and oftentimes the biggest transformations are the hardest to disclose.

So, if you’re a healthcare IT decision maker, are you challenging your vendors to “prove it”?

And, if you’re a hospital using a particular health IT system and experiencing great outcomes, how can we encourage you to share those results ?