iStock_000042827030_Small.jpgAs the reimbursement world changes from fee-for-service to pay-for-performance models, demonstrating value is key. To be able to compellingly demonstrate value compliant with payment model expectations, providers need to be able to know how well their facilities are performing today. The technology needed to effectively identify and communicate such value is available through business intelligence (BI). As mentioned in a previous post, BI can also be useful in helping providers share information with stakeholders, investors, and even referrals sources.

Let’s assume you’ve identified a particular hospital which shows considerable potential as a referral source to one of your facilities for patients requiring the kinds of services that facility specializes in. With BI, you can effectively tell your story with data-driven information, easily retrieved and configured for presentation. You can bring demonstrated improvement trends in rehospitalization rates tied to clinical best practices and specific diagnoses. Statistically, you can also show how competently your facility treats in-house as well as community-acquired pressure ulcers, physical restraints, falls/accidents, significant weight loss, medications, infections, etc.

You can confidently share with the hospital’s executives discharge information length-of-stay and admissions/discharges information, Five Star ratings compared to peers, and inspection results, such as fines and deficiencies, and quality measures you can present in chart or graph form with trends and benchmarks to state averages. A further indicator of quality within the context of Five Star ratings is labor. BI gives you the opportunity to compare your staffing to 5-Star, 4-Star, and 3-Star requirements.

If your clinical software enables your clinicians to uniquely identify hospitals, you can specifically demonstrate to your audience how well you serve the patients they have discharged to your facility.

What’s most useful is that BI already generates this information for you automatically. You can export it and reconfigure it to meet your audience’s needs. So, what’s required? A BI tool tailored to your organization’s mission, objectives, and best practices, and the opportunity to share your story, to demonstrate your value to the community and the care continuum you serve.