Submitter
Curtis Dudley, Vice President, Performance Solutions
Company
Mercy Health
Industry
Healthcare
Business Challenge
In the past, determining surgical costs at Mercy Health was an unstructured, manual process. At the time, surgeon preference cards and product contracts (which contain supply cost) were the only methods available to determine the cost of surgical procedures. Without data as evidence, there were varying opinions as to the best practice, price and product for a given procedure. As a result, there were significant variations in the cost per surgical case across Mercy.
To support Mercy’s strategic goals related to cost, service and quality, and help Mercy pioneer a new model of care while balancing financial pressures due to changes in reimbursement, perioperative leaders set out to find new ways of monitoring, measuring, comparing and improving the cost and delivery of surgical procedures while increasing patient satisfaction and creating an exceptional experience.
Analytics Solution
In order to automate the delivery of information in a way that could be easily understood and consumed, Mercy created a set of analytic dashboards that transformed the information delivery experience for the user. These dashboards built on a high performing in-memory data platform allowed for very large data sets to be aggregated and rolled-up into high level metrics, but also allowed for the drill-down into transaction level detail. Each dashboard also included a data exploration tool that allowed users to explore and self-discover the data beyond what was provided in the dashboard. The dashboards were also designed to highlight opportunity and variation in practice. This approach to delivery enabled perioperative leaders to focus on where they could have the greatest impact rather than low value opportunities.
Impact
Using key cost and outcome data related to surgical procedures across Mercy, they achieved $9.42 million in cost reduction, eliminated or minimized the use of certain surgical products, reduced variation, established best practices across perioperative departments and ensured quality post-operative outcomes for patients.