healthsystemCIO.com is the sole online-only publication dedicated to exclusively and comprehensively serving the information needs of healthcare CIOs.
For Rochester RHIO, which has been around since 2006, the key to longevity has been in its ability to evolve, and its willingness to “listen to the community and respond to what they need,” says CIO Andrea Richardson.
By combining the right data with the right models, social determinants of health are a powerful asset in predictive models of health, outcomes, and potential health disparities, according to researchers from Mayo Clinic Platform and Change Healthcare.
At Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin, the concept of digital by default means shifting the way care is delivered and business is conducted, says Bradley Crotty in this podcast. “It means don’t just do digital; be digital.”
The most sophisticated algorithms for screening diseases and improving treatments won’t do much good if they misrepresent the populations they seek to serve, according to Paul Cerrato and Dr. John Halamka. In this blog, they discuss the “ethical dilemma” that can deter digital health initiatives.
When it comes to social determinants of health, capturing data is important, but it’s merely one step, says Patrick McGill, MD. It’s also about leveraging that data to understand why gaps exist, and partnering with others to help close them.
There may be different ways of getting there, but for healthcare CIOs, the destination is always the same: to “deliver care that’s value-based, cost-effective, and easy to use,” says Ray Lowe of AltaMed Health Services.
It’s no longer just about receiving care; patients want personal engagements, but they want them to be accessible through a web or mobile interface, says Doug Tolley, who breaks down the latest KLAS research.
Even with all the information available on a patient, the care picture is still “rough and poorly defined,” says David Muntz. Social determinants, however, can play a key role by adding some pixels.
There’s no question as to why social determinants should be incorporated into the care picture. The questions, according to Mike Davis, are around how to do it in the most effective ways possible.
As digital tools become more critical to operations, it’s becoming increasingly important to develop a more “coherent and structured” process that can give health IT leaders the knowledge and experience they need, says Will Smart.
