Healthcare Data Analytics Blog

Practical Analytic Approaches to Healthcare Challenges Globally, policy makers and payers are focusing on services that are regarded medically unnecessary and do not yield useful results. In the United States, these are referred to as low- or no-value services and are considered wasteful. A significant percentage of the services considered wasteful are medical imaging when … Overused Ophthalmology Imaging: More May Not Be Better

Practical Analytic Approaches to Healthcare Challenges Experts and stakeholders across the industry agree that there is an immediate need to reduce wasteful healthcare spending in the US. A 2012 Institute of Medicine report estimated that one third of US healthcare spending, or $750 billion is wasted annually (Washington Post, September 2012). Of that amount, $210 … Reducing Healthcare Waste: A Three Pronged Approach

Practical Analytic Approaches to Healthcare Challenges Anesthesiologists perform pre-operative assessment on all patients undergoing surgery in order to identify any disease or risks to the surgery and to plan perioperative anesthetic care to mitigate surgical risk. In patients with known cardiac disease, diagnostic cardiac tests such as stress tests and echocardiograms are sometimes recommended as … Wasteful Pre-Operative Cardiac Testing Prior to Low-Risk Surgery

Practical Analytic Approaches to Healthcare Challenges Routinely performing pre-operative testing is a common practice prior to surgery. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Task Force defines routine tests as those done in the absence of any specific clinical indication or purpose (i.e. tests intended to discover a disease or disorder in an asymptomatic patient).1 Routine … Pre-operative Laboratory Testing for Low Risk Surgeries

Practical Analytic Approaches to Healthcare Challenges Most analysts conducting population health data analysis understand that no two populations are completely the same. Even within a population with similar attributes – people with congestive heart failure, for example – there will be variances in the population subgroups. Many factors contribute to these variances, including age and … Is Risk Adjustment Enough in Population Analytics?

Practical Analytic Approaches to Healthcare Challenges The excitement in the room was palpable as 28 attendees descended on the Westin’s Earhart Room in Detroit, Michigan. Stakeholders from across the nation gathered on September 13 with a common goal—to reduce wasteful healthcare services in the United States. Our charge for the day was to prioritize 29 … Task Force on Low Value Care: Fall Convening