HIMSS RECAP – TRENDS, AS SEEN FROM THE MOOSE

Events

As we continue to reflect on our HIMSS experience this year, we come back to the thought-provoking discussions we were able to have in our booth. We loved introducing ourselves to so many of you and getting past the initial “What do you do?” questions to dialogues about the topics that you care about at your organization. We appreciated the opportunity to show you our passion for improving healthcare IT.

Here are some of the trends that we noticed in our talks with all of you and at HIMSS:

Analytics:

Analytics, a buzzword in a lot of arenas, is one of the cornerstones of our business. With valid, quality data giving you relevant, timely, and comprehensive information, you can make educated decisions that can spur your strategic thinking and planning capacity. We stand behind the power of analytics to improve healthcare quality and efficiency, and we recognize that there aren’t any one-size-fits-all approaches. We have a broad understanding of the analytics tools available along with a seasoned team of healthcare experts. We loved discussing the opportunities presented by your challenges with you.

Data Governance:

Another trending topic this year is data governance. Folks seem to be aware of their data access and consistency challenges and are looking for ways to make improvements. With the many snippets about data governance, it can be hard to get the big picture, so we’ll dispel a few myths:

If you use data to make decisions at your organization, then you have a data governance approach. If you haven’t thought much about it, your approach might not be comprehensive or even adequate to your needs, but it’s still there.
Data governance is not bound to a specific EHR or database. In fact, one of the objectives of developing data governance in your organization is to document standard definitions for key metrics, regardless of the source system.
Ownership of data is an interesting issue as many customers are extending healthcare software as a service, undergoing strategic mergers and participating in an ACO. Access to the right amount of data to meet regulations and make decisions requires a lot of forethought and careful planning.
We’ve found that while, at its heart, data governance is about standards and process, the nuances of an organization’s data governance needs seem as unique as snowflakes. The tools and systems you use, the leadership and accountability structure you have in place, and the infrastructure you already established impact where you need to look next.

Population Health:

As patients in healthcare systems ourselves, we’re excited about the prevalence of population health as a hot topic. Improving care across a cohort of patients is one of the best use cases of the analytics solutions we offer, and we’re excited to see quality and efficiency continue to intersect to improve outcomes for even more people.