IRVING, TX – VHA, Inc., the national network of not-for-profit healthcare organizations, has launched a new suite of tools designed to provide a broader view of performance, linking clinical, financial, operational and supply data across the care continuum.
Officials say the new offerings, collectively called Performance Management, are designed to help healthcare leaders manage their business more effectively in a clinically integrated environment, center around advisory services designed to clearly and quickly identify the critical next steps for improvement and are paired with a knowledge-sharing and data platform.
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"Our goal with this new suite of offerings is to arm our members with the business intelligence they need to make the right decisions in this highly competitive and shifting environment," said Byron Jobe, VHA's executive vice president, service and delivery. "But unlike more conventional approaches, we have expanded the data view, linked it to our knowledge platforms, included leading industry expertise and are delivering through our local networks. The strong regional and national peer connections our members gain through VHA are critical to helping them make the best choices for accelerating their performance."
To complement its networks, analytic assets and implementation resources, VHA is collaborating with UHC and Thomson Reuters to continue to build the value of Performance Management. Both UHC and Thomson Reuters are recognized leaders at acquiring and synthesizing data and already work with many VHA members. Building upon existing relationships, the new collaborations unite deep information assets with analytics, expert advisory services and industry knowledge to help hospitals improve their operational, clinical and financial performance.
Initial offerings include business intelligence that identifies organization-wide insights and trends at the system or facility level to discover improvement opportunities affecting cost, quality and reimbursement as well as side-by-side comparisons with peers across key indicators including clinical quality, patient safety, value-based purchasing, patient experience, supply chain and operational and workforce measures.
In addition, Performance Management includes customized advisory services and action plans, provided by experienced VHA staff members, to synthesize strengths, opportunities and improvements gleaned from BI and develop customized performance improvement-directed action plans.
It also offers links to leading practices from other hospitals that are specific to core measures and other clinical, supply chain or operational processes and incorporate detailed, user-friendly depictions of the clinical practices, tools and cultures recognized in leading performers.
[See also: VHA launches 'Target Zero' to wipe out medical errors.]
VHA execs say future Performance Management services will:
- Help providers by delivering a comprehensive view of clinical, financial, supply chain and operational data across the continuum of care, offering market-leading business intelligence capabilities and advisory services.
- Link supply costs and utilization to present providers with a total picture of quality and reimbursement on a patient-by-patient basis.
- Allow providers to manage the health of the communities they serve through improved insights on outcomes, reimbursement and cost for specific patient populations.
