Auburn, CA and Little Rock, AR / PRWeb / May 7, 2014 – A new report highlights how extensively health care professionals are using health information technology (HIT) applications, providing unique insight into the ways technology is transforming the industry. The research, sponsored by TCS Healthcare Technologies (TCS) with other leading health care organizations, assesses which software programs are being used, how they are being leveraged, and the types of functionality that are most important in day-to-day operations.
Part of an ongoing series that analyzes the results of the 3rd bi-annual Health IT Survey, the report unveils other significant trends about dashboard functionality, predictive modeling software, stratification and the impact and potential return on investment of HIT systems.
The Health IT Survey, sponsored by TCS, the Case Management Society of America (CMSA), and the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians (ABQAURP), was conducted in 2008, 2010 and 2012 to identify primary trends in health IT systems as well as current and emerging software applications.
“With the growth of population health management programs, data analytics and interactive reporting is key to creating actionable information to optimize clinical outcomes,” says Rob Pock, founder and president of TCS Healthcare Technologies. “While this trend report highlights how information technology is changing the way health care professionals view, analyze and manage data, it also showcases the progress that is needed to optimize data analytic functions.”
One of nine reports that analyze the research results, Trend Report #8: Data Analytics & Reporting, identifies several key trends:
- Traditional reporting tools such as Excel (39%), Crystal Reports (20%) and Access (17%) remain the most common applications used by respondents. Emerging applications like Tableau still have a much smaller part of the market share.
- Use of predictive modeling applications remains limited, with 25% of the respondents indicating use of this kind of tool. Interestingly, 35% of the respondents reported using predictive modeling two years earlier.
- Thirty percent of respondents report stratifying health care information based on business rules to promote population-based screening or to identify candidates for case management.
- The survey highlights the importance of dashboard and visualization capabilities, with the vast majority of respondents reporting that the following functions are important:
- Ability to manipulate reports and data presented
- Convenient access to and delivery of information (e.g., use on iPad, Android)
- Ability to view trends for individual patients
- Ability to view trends for large sets of data
- Almost half of the respondents (46%) state that they have experienced a positive ROI on their IT investments, in contrast to just a much small group (14%) who reported a negative ROI.
“Technology that supports the exchange of information in health care is changing very rapidly,” says Cheri Lattimer, RN, BSN, CMSA executive director. “We have seen enormous change since this survey series launched in 2008. Data integration will continue to be a top priority as we place emphasis on transitions of care. Collaboration and interoperability will need to be fundamental elements for achieving success in technology growth and creating a seamless experience for the patient.”
According to Joel Brill, MD, “Several survey findings highlight the need for organizations to consider replacing legacy systems with more cost-effective solutions. Cloud hosting, big data, distributed computing, open-source code and related trends reflect the many changes in IT applications that can help organizations to improve care management for patients.”
This is the third time TCS, CMSA and ABQAURP have joined forces to sponsor the bi-annual survey, with the first survey conducted in 2008. By comparing data from all three surveys – 2012, 2010 and 2008 – the series of 2013 Trend Reports points to several emerging patterns in health IT use and perception.
“To the best of our knowledge, this survey represents the most in-depth research looking at the ways care management software systems have been used and modified over the past six years,” says Garry Carneal, JD, MA, president & CEO of Schooner Strategies and research coordinator. “Not only is it surprising to see the forward progress that is being made, but to witness the major health IT solution challenges that medical professionals continue to face.”
Trend Report #1: Introduction & Methodology Overview provides a background on the survey methodology, participants and sampling technique. All of the published Trend Reports can be viewed or downloaded on a complementary basis at www.tcshealthcare.com in the Press section, or by visiting www.cmsa.org.
Trend Report #9 will be published next month. Those interested in receiving copies of the remaining reports as they become available can sign up in the Trend Reports section of www.tcshealthcare.com under the Press tab. The TCS website also contains other valuable resources and information, including links to the webinar series showcasing the results of the survey.
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About the Co-Sponsors
TCS Healthcare Technologies (TCS) is a leading provider of software and clinical solutions that support and improve population health management strategies for health plans, insurers, providers, third-party administrators, medical management companies, and others. TCS is recognized as one of the premier health care software companies in the United States designing, offering, and hosting a number of products and services. The TCS Acuity Advanced Care® application provides a comprehensive and integrated care management software system for Utilization Management (UM), Case Management (CM), Disease Management (DM), and Prevention/Wellness (PW) services.
For more information: (530) 886-1700; www.tcshealthcare.com.
American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians, Inc. (ABQAURP), is a non-profit education and certification board that has certified over 9,800 physicians, nurses and other health care professionals in Health Care Quality Management (HCQM) and Patient Safety. Established in 1977, ABQAURP is the nation’s largest organization of interdisciplinary healthcare professionals. ABQAURP is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) as a provider of Continuing Medical Education, and by the Florida Board of Nursing as a provider of Nursing Credit. For more information: (800) 998-6030; www.abqaurp.org.
Case Management Society of America (CMSA), established in 1990, is the leading non-profit association dedicated to the support and development of the profession of case management. CMSA serves more than 11,000 members, 20,000 subscribers, and 75 chapters through educational forums, networking opportunities, legislative advocacy and establishing standards to advance the profession.
For more information: www.cmsa.org; Twitter @CMSANational.