Data quality is a big deal for healthcare organizations.  It is not just about FDA compliance or avoiding fines.  The quality of data has direct and indirect impacts on running the business, whether it's revenue cycle management, patient satisfaction, physician referral/referral-to-payment splits, fraud detection using claims data, etc. Healthcare organizations are increasingly investing in technology to improve the quality of data in their systems. In this article, we debunk some common myths and misconceptions about healthcare data quality and offer practical solutions for improving it.  

Implementing a new EHR is a huge undertaking with significant financial impacts. Healthcare organizations are spending millions of dollars to purchase an EHR system that will streamline patient care, improve paper-based documentation processes, and facilitate quality improvement efforts. Hospitals have invested a significant amount of time into researching software companies, comparing prices, evaluating key features and functionality, negotiating costs with vendors and insurance companies, etc.

Guiding Principles for a Successful Implementation

When I initially considered writing a blog about creating project success and avoiding common pitfalls, I recalled a Becker’s report, as well as many others, confirming that 70% of hospital strategic initiatives fail. I wondered how so many projects failed to meet defined goals and expectations. Who was steering or not steering the ship? For five straight years, the statistic remained the same... until the Project Management Institute (PMI), Pulse of the Profession 2017 survey, reported that organizations implementing strategic initiatives are experiencing a higher success rate. This is good news, but there is still significant room for improvement.

Dana Spencer

Client Services Executive

Dana is a seasoned Healthcare IT Program Manager. She is an expert in software solutions delivery and services that improve patient care, clinical outcomes, and maximize organizational performance. Dana's experience in strategic and tactical planning, process redesign, change management, and executive relationship management has yielded years of repeated success in the deployment of solutions in multi-size enterprise environments.

PM Spotlight - Tim Barca, PMP

Tim has over 20 years of healthcare information technology experience, including key roles at hospitals and software vendors.  This experience has spanned the implementation and maintenance of Revenue Cycle, Clinical, Pharmacy Automation, and Ambulatory applications in multi-facility healthcare organizations.  

As a Client Services Executive at ROI, Tim has demonstrated a high level of integrity, relationship development skills, and team collaboration across our client engagements. He holds an MBA degree in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix, Pittsburgh, PA and received his Bachelor's of Science degree in Computer Based Systems Management, Eberly School of Technology, California University of PA, California. 

Is your practice application approaching sunset? Are you looking to purchase a new system? Have you recently merged with another group and now have disparate systems that need to be consolidated?    

The future is unknown. Based on current trends, healthcare IT (HIT) experts can only speculate, at best. The need to continuously change is evident. Last Tuesday, I had the pleasure of attending the 2018 GA HIMSS Annual Conference, in Atlanta, Georgia. It was interesting to hear the various perspectives on how HIT leaders manage day to day issues; how CIO’s build their enterprise by incorporating advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data; and how collaborative vendor and interpersonal relationships with employees influence the process. So, where are we today?