Population Health and Data Analytics Strategies for Value-Based Care
Using population health and data analytics for value-based care improves outcomes for patient populations, but some organizations are applying strategies more effectively than others.
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By - Healthcare is increasingly reliant on data analytics strategies. Population health measures are no exception, as they depend heavily on analytics to monitor metrics for large groups of patients, fill gaps in care, and improve health outcomes. But findings from the latest Insights report revealed that many of these population health efforts are in their infancy.
The report, Population Health and Data Analytic Strategies for Value-Based Care, shows that 60 percent of organizations are struggling with staffing limitations as they look for ways to generate actionable data analytics.
The benefits of incorporating data into population health strategies are numerous, as the data allow organizations to pursue value-based care models that can reduce negative outcomes for patients and increase bottom lines.
Unfortunately, providers are still struggling to effectively implement data analytics and population health in a meaningful way.
“Usually, you need a data scientist who knows the data and knows what to bring together. I would then want another person to validate it,” explained the co-chair of a nursing association and professor of nursing during qualitative follow-up.
Organizations also struggle to produce reliable data from their analytics (39%) and gathering the necessary data to employ in population health strategies (44%).
“I have eight different payer data sources and three different PBM sources that we normalize
on a monthly basis. There is a lack of reliability on how those files are output from the various payers because there are different levels of redaction that happen in payer files that are inconsistent across the industry,” an integrated physician network president said in follow-up.
“Gone unchecked and unaudited, these variances can cause your analytics to go askew. Then you wind up putting the right resource with the wrong person or vice versa.”
To adopt analytical solutions and apply population health strategies to patient care, providers need additional capital, technology, and staffing resources. For many organizations, these issues hold them back from practicing better value-based care.
Large providers, especially hospitals and health systems, are already finding success with their population health strategies. Because of the push for technological integration in the healthcare industry, there is a need for all organizations to be working on a level playing field when it comes to population health capabilities.
As the healthcare industry moves toward value-based care, providers of all sizes should be prioritizing the best practices for data analytics and population health strategies. Achieving this goal requires that providers overcome the boundaries of limited staffing, limited funding, and data issues.
Population Health and Data Analytic Strategies for Value-Based Care also explores the differences between physician practices and hospitals in their pursuit of population health strategies to enable value-based care success. The full report can be found here.
