by Core Solutions on November 4, 2019
Why have an expensive tool if it is not going to be used to its full capability? It's like spending a thousand dollars on the newest smartphone, and then only using it to make phone calls. This is the conundrum for behavioral health care organizations that use electronic health records (EHRs).
These organizations invest hundreds of thousands of dollars both on EHR technology and training their employees to collect and store data, but often times fail to fully utilize that data to better impact treatment, create organizational efficiencies and better understand the populations that they serve.
What does it mean to be a data-driven organization, and how can the information stored in EHRs be fully leveraged? Since 2009, when the Obama Administration began focusing on the use of EHRs, the United States government has spent billions of dollars moving the health care industry into the 21st century. The goal was to put client data at the fingertips of medical professionals, increasing efficiency and bettering client care. Here are a few areas to focus on when transforming to a data-driven health care company.
| Everyone has to be on the same page The first step is to change the organization's culture to that of a data-driven enterprise. The best way to do this is to make sure that everyone, from the CEO to Direct Service Professionals are literate in data collection, data management and analytics. Every employee should have a working knowledge of not only the systems involved in data collection and management, but also the strategy and desired end-use behind the collection of critical data, and the goals and priorities of the company that make it necessary to become data-driven. The first place to implement this culture shift is often the organization's IT department. |
| Don't just consume the data, use it Data-driven companies should ensure that health care professionals are not merely reading over data and then moving on, but are actively engaged with the information being supplied. Health care professionals can use the portability and ease of sharing information to collaborate with other specialists as well as analyzing the data to fully discern the best treatment options and care for the client. A data-driven health care company should always strive to remember that with proper data analysis, a client’s story will emerge and can then be used to deliver the best treatment and care plan possible. |
| Work toward the goals When analyzing data sets and data points, an organization must always pay attention to its strategic goals and priorities. Also, the organization must not be afraid to adapt and change those goals based on trends it sees in the data. Without flexibility and maneuverability ingrained into the organization's culture, important opportunities and future industry trends might be missed. |
If you would like to learn more about how the Core Cx360 EHR platform allows behavioral health care organizations to gather analyze and leverage all the data collected in one integrated platform request a demo or connect with one of our experts today.
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