Healthcare information systems everywhere are on the operating table. Some are in intensive care. I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV, but I can tell you without a doubt that the growing pain and pressure in healthcare information systems is best treated by the leader in fast-acting enterprise intelligence – Teradata.
Teradata’s time-tested and proven ADW therapy has helped many businesses recover from IDS (Intelligence Deficit Syndrome) – deadly to companies in hypercompetitive markets. IDS is characterized by episodes of blindness to opportunity, disintegration of processes, inaccurate reporting – and an inability to make fully informed decisions. Okay, most of us know that ADW means Active Data Warehousing – Teradata’s approach to delivering detailed intelligence in real time – to those on the operational front lines who need it most.
With tongue planted firmly in cheek, I do want to make a serious point. In healthcare today, the need for near-real time analytical intelligence has never been greater. As our elected representatives struggle to modernize healthcare, let this be understood: one sure way to improve the quality, cost and delivery of healthcare is to raise the quality of intelligence used by healthcare providers, planners, payors and product makers. The Teradata approach is all about raising visibility to those users of intelligence – and it is already being done.
- Kaiser Permanente, the largest HMO in the US, is completing a Teradata ADW to integrate claims, eligibility, pharmacy, prescription and other medical data from multiple systems into one centralized access point. It is used to integrate and mine clinical data to better understand the causes of disease – and find cures.
- Highmark, a Blues health plan, is using its Teradata system to identify and fight health care fraud and abuse in near-real time. They have dramatically improved reporting and trend monitoring and are expanding the system to include proactive health management – creating personal wellness programs.
- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is building a data platform to maintain a clear line of sight on its operations and transactions – a single, integrated data repository from Teradata. Tracking claims processing records with this platform empowers CMS to detect and thwart fraud, waste and abuse.
We are sure that the ADW approach, extended to other federal healthcare agencies would further improve the quality and cost of healthcare. Integrating data from all government healthcare entities such as HHS, SSA, VA and DoD would accelerate best practices and knowledge discovery. One priority example would be the realization of the VA’s Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record – implementing a Teradata ADW to serve all VA and DoD beneficiaries.
I am not saying that a Teradata system will solve all healthcare problems. But by raising the intelligence of the core systems that feed, manage, analyze and deliver information to millions of healthcare professionals, these experts will have the detailed visibility to collaborate and resolve problems. Someone said “ignorance can be fixed.” Absolutely – with intelligence. As an experienced practitioner in this field, I strongly recommend ADW Therapy.
