Data Collection and Analysis Becoming More Integral to Doctor Offices and Patient Care

Newswise — (Harrisburg, Pa.) Reform mandates coming down from federal and state agencies, the already existing cost pressures of the weakening economy, and the looming need for access to physician care for Pennsylvania’s rapidly aging population … the perfect storm that’s creating a rapid transformation of health care in the Keystone State.

On the top of everyone’s list as part of the transformation: data and information technology.

Why? Because many health insurers as well as federal and state agencies are talking about tying how much physicians are paid to how well they care for their patients. Physicians must prove their value by proving the quality of the care they provide.

According to an article in the September edition of the PAMED Better Health Network™ eZine, that’s where the importance of collecting and analyzing data comes into play.

In the article, found at http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/a110f078#/a110f078/10, Eve Kimball, MD, a pediatrician and founder of All About Children Pediatric Partners P.C., says that as a result of her practice’s data collection they can identify all the things they’re not doing. With a busy practice in Reading, Pa., that primarily serves Medicaid patients, Dr. Kimball says knowing what they’re not doing is what changes behavior.

Dr. Kimball’s office could be considered a veteran practice in data collection, having started data retrieval in 2008.

The article also features Ken Harm, MD, a primary care doctor with Good Hope Family Physicians in Enola, Pa. Dr. Harm’s practice is in the infancy of collecting data. The article describes his practice’s plan to collect data over the course of the first year and then set up benchmarks and goals.

Dr. Harm says in the article that the biggest challenge at Good Hope Family Physicians has been “devoting the people and time to collect and analyze it (data).”

The PAMED Better Health Network™ eZine, newly launched in April 2011, highlights new trends in patient care, providing insight into the lives and work of Pennsylvania’s physician leaders. The eZine is an innovation of the PAMED Better Health Network™, which was created to bring together innovators who are concerned about the quality and value of health care.

The September 2011 edition as well as others can be viewed at www.pamedsoc.org/ezine.

www.pamedsoc.orgwww.myfamilywellness.org

The patient-doctor relationship has been the priority of the Pennsylvania Medical Society since its founding in 1848. While there are always issues being debated about health systems and reform, the physician members of the medical society continue to focus on better health for all Pennsylvanians. To learn more about the Pennsylvania Medical Society, visit the web site at www.pamedsoc.org. Patients may learn more about a variety of health topics at www.myfamilywellness.org.