Sierra View Medical Center

Unleashes the Power of Data With MEDITECH’s Analytics Solution

Sierra View Medical Center, for years, was challenged with complex and cumbersome processes for retrieving data from its electronic health record. Few report writers had the specialized knowledge and skills to write them, and reports could take hours to run, depending on the amount of data requested. The leadership team was frustrated by the difficulty in acquiring the right data at the right time, especially when it was needed immediately.

Regulatory surveys were a unique challenge due to the ”on the spot” requests for reports on specific patient populations used in retrospective chart review.

“We would cringe during surveys because we had all that data, but we couldn’t get to it,” said SVMC Director of Information Technology and Clinical Informatics Traci Follett.  

MEDITECH’s Business and Clinical Analytics has helped SVMC to streamline the survey process by giving staff access to high-level dashboards that filter and organize data, transforming it into actionable information that can be leveraged in real time.

To prepare for Joint Commission and state surveys, SVMC’s IT team created dashboards for patient populations commonly requested by surveyors.

“Now, when they want to see patients who have had procedural sedation done in the ICU or patients at risk for falls, we have an up-to-date list available immediately,” explained Follett.

‘A game changer’

BCA isn’t just helping SVMC with surveys. MEDITECH’s analytics solution delivers actionable data, fueling the organization’s ability to make more informed decisions and improving data accessibility for end users, particularly executives.

“It's been a game changer in terms of being able to get data into the hands of people who need to make important decisions, either on the clinical or business side,” said Follett.

She noted that executives required little to no training to access dashboards that enable them to focus on specific service lines and view census information and patient volume.

“Developing BCA dashboards is an efficient and intuitive process,” said Follett. “Standard dashboards are easy to customize to executives’ needs, and end users can easily modify them on the fly to filter specific data elements they want to focus on.”

Interactive and customizable dashboards

Because BCA is an integrated data analytics solution, it displays data quickly, without slowing down the system, and often eliminates the need to run the report altogether. Before using the solution, SVMC relied on static reports, inefficient in the constantly changing healthcare environment.

“Some departments, like imaging, are using BCA dashboards to look at volumes to determine the productivity of their staff and make any necessary scheduling adjustments,” said Follett. “In the surgical space, we’re using dashboards to identify the specific providers in the operating room, the number of cases they’ve worked on, and the staff members who were present for the operation.”

On the financial side, BCA is used to view statistics related to volumes, patients’ lengths of stay, delinquent accounts, and more on a clean, customizable dashboard. 

Intelligent application of data

SVMC also uses BCA to report on its progress with specific quality improvement initiatives, such as preventing falls and hospital-acquired infections.

“We use BCA a lot in clinical areas because we can monitor data throughout the year to see where our vulnerabilities are,” explained Follett. “By identifying and then addressing gaps in care, we can measure and monitor our progress with any of our quality improvement projects.”

SVMC continues to transition from the older, static report methodology to dynamic BCA dashboards that are much more accessible to end users. Its data governance committee works with both clinical and business teams to prioritize dashboard creation, a testament to the solution’s usefulness and versatility. 

“More than anything, BCA has brought value to our organization,” said Follett. “Improved decision-making means improved outcomes, and that’s only possible with insightful analytics and usable data.”