Interoperability Challenges And Successes In A Value-Based World

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

White paper demonstrates how to position for success in the “merger mania” era.

The shift to value-based care reimbursement models has caused a number of mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships leading some experts to dub 2016 the year of “merger mania.” In a white paper, Allscripts presents responses from industry leaders about the interoperability challenges they face as healthcare organizations align, and how they are forging ahead with quality care, population health, and analytics initiatives to provide advice from these leaders on how to position for success in a value-based world.

Truly Connected: Clinical Data Integration Strategies in the Merger and Acquisition Era recognized, “As healthcare organizations come together, often with different legacy Information Technology (IT) systems already in place, the trials of integrating data across new alliances can compromise providers’ abilities to deliver on quality care, population health and analytics initiatives — limiting their ultimate financial viability in today’s healthcare environment.”

The study provided five basic pieces of advice for successfully navigating the merger mania landscape:

• Recognize the cultural aspects of change. “Right now, we’re in an environment that has nine different EHRs and 14 different practice management systems across all practices. One of the biggest challenges our providers face in this transition is a sense of loss of control. They’re really fighting to maintain their independence while at the same time recognizing they need to be part of this network to meet the requirements and regulations that they can’t meet on their own,” explains Neal Hafez, Chief Information Officer, Pediatric Physician’s Organization at Children’s (PPOC).
• Set the tone with strong clinical leadership. “There’s no secret sauce here,” says Jim Feen, CHCIO, Associate CIO, Southcoast Health. “In order to set the tone, the objectives, and the improvements in efficiencies that will affect care delivery, you need that strong clinical leadership in place and that starts at the top. When that tone is set, and the message and objectives are understood, you’ll find you have buy-in across the board.”
• Define common, clinically relevant data sets. “Some of the workflow issues we face are really aggravating for patients,” explains Phyllis Teater, Chief Information Officer, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “Caregivers may have to ask patients for extra specifics on a medication because they can’t get data in a particular format. So we are putting emphasis on defining common data sets. To really understanding what the caregiver needs to know to make good decisions. It’s all about looking at interoperability from the lens of the clinician’s use.”
• Connect with standardized, reusable components. “You need to have a really good view of what existed and what’s going to change,” says Doug Dietzman, Executive Director, Great Lakes Health Connect. “And then a plan in place that makes sure you don’t unplug something that will have negative impacts downstream that you didn’t anticipate. But with the right plan in place, with all that upfront work, you’ll do it right. If you do it right, no one is going to notice a difference because they are getting the data they need when they need it.”
• Beware rip-and-replace strategies. “Rip-and-replace can take years, requiring intense redirection of resources and a disruption to care. You run the risk of a cost overrun. And we’re seeing the impacts of those overruns as executives lose their jobs and hospitals are blaming their budget issues on the cost of their EHR. Instead, it’s possible to leverage technology platforms that you already have in place to minimize the cost and disruption,” warns Martha Thorne, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Population Health, Allscripts.

Last month, Allscripts launched the Interoperability Maturity Model (IMM) which is a roadmap that defines the critical components needed for interoperability and connectivity including health information exchange, care coordination, analytics and patient engagement. IMM enables organizations to evaluate themselves across the entire spectrum of interoperability challenges and opportunities.