3 EHR Data Questions Your Healthcare Clients Are Asking Today
By Megan Williams, contributing writer
Data, and the opportunities for change that it brings your clients, continues to be a driving topic for VARs in all industries. EHR data in healthcare is no different, bringing with it its own set of issues and opportunities. Healthcare providers are intensely invested in patient outcomes, so it is crucial that your solutions are centered on their questions and concerns.
What is our data doing for us?
Providers know that EHR is here to stay. They even know that it can help them and their patients in groundbreaking ways — but are you making them aware of how? As healthcare moves forward, your clients will be seeing continued pressure to solve problems using predictive analytics. This is more easily implemented at large organizations like hospitals, but private practices can benefit, too. Marc Perlman, global VP of healthcare and life sciences, asked some of those questions in an interview with EHRintelligence during HIMSS14: “If you have somebody who presents to you as a physician, you want to be able to look for how many other patients had this particular characteristic. How many have had a very similar genetic profile? What were the things that we were able to use? What were the results? And how do you track the outcomes? We actually can start answering those really hard questions.”
Is Big Data too big?
Most likely, yes. Personalized medicine is the future of healthcare and is all about individual results and aggregating information to change specific patient outcomes for the better. The shift in perspective from traditional thinking around Big Data is subtle, but crucial in healthcare, since your clients are working in very focused and concentrated communities and fields. Creating customized solutions that change patient outcomes for them is the foundation of your relationship.
Where should we start?
Your clients are acutely aware of what’s working for them and what isn’t. Small margins and high stakes in healthcare make sure of that. If you know what your organization is most concerned about and what they’re trying to accomplish, you’ll much more easily be able to find data and EHR solutions that will bring them benefit, and also have a solid starting point for demonstrating to them the value you bring to their organization.
Keep these questions in mind when working with your clients to stay connected with real value creation in their practices and establishing relationships where your value is tangible and transparent.