HAS 24 is a Wrap!

Healthcare Analytics Summit (HAS) 2024, an annual interactive and educational conference, wrapped up yesterday. Over 1,000 of the healthcare industry’s do-ers, hard workers, believers, game-changers, and impact-makers joined Health Catalyst in Salt Lake City to leverage our collective expertise and experience to Imagine, Innovate, and Impact healthcare.

Closing out day two of HAS 24, Dan Burton, CEO of Health Catalyst, characterized the past two days as engaging and transformative, resulting in a mix of excitement and exhaustion. It’s a good combination, he said, one that he hopes will serve attendees well as they head back to their respective organizations and continue their mission to achieve massive, measurable change in healthcare.

Burton concluded his speech by recounting the inspiring tale of The Boys in the Boat. Reflecting on how an inexperienced yet determined rowing team came together in their first race, defying expectations and setting a new record, Burton highlighted how their coach made bold decisions, reshuffling the team and placing trust in unexpected strategies. Burton drew parallels. Those in healthcare likely face a similar situation to the boys in the boat – diligently striving to introduce new ideas under considerable limitations while encountering numerous obstacles.

“What may feel like long odds, we hope this conference, with its many stories and examples in and outside healthcare, has persuaded you of three things: We’re not alone. We’re in this together. We can do this,” Burton said.

Keynotes Made to Inspire

Lisa Bodell | Unleash Innovation

Complexity overwhelms people and undermines meaningful work, but it’s endemic to most organizations, costing them money and time. Lisa Bodell, CEO of FutureThink and a best-selling author and global speaker on innovation, simplification, and change, encouraged HAS attendees to reduce complexity in their organizations and adopt simplicity as a work strategy.

Bodell emphasized that complexity is often self-imposed and unnecessary. If individuals and organizations adopt simplicity as a strategy, it frees up time to focus on meaningful work, she said. Bodell noted that organizations that adopt simplicity as a strategy enjoy higher stock prices, retain more employees, and have less absenteeism and burnout.

Natalie Nixon, PhD | Adapt or Disrupt: Imaginations Business ROI

As a creativity strategist and CEO of Figure 8 Thinking, Natalie Nixon, Ph.D., believes that we are on the brink of a new era that will shift our focus away from viewing data as currency due to its increasing accessibility and commodification in today’s world. Creativity and curiosity are powerful tools in Nixon’s perspective. According to Nixon, asking questions and playing serve as a gateway to exploration and sparking creativity in any industry. The power of imagination is emphasized in problem-solving and cognitive processes, often surpassing the value of knowledge itself. It also sparks innovation as creative thinkers venture into uncharted territories.

HAS 24 Day 2 Breakout Sessions:

Key Lessons Learned and Results Achieved in our Multi-Year Data and Analytics Journey: $100M+ Improvements

Organizations can uncover insights that drive innovation, improve patient outcomes, and optimize operational efficiency by focusing on the most relevant and valuable information. Rhiannon Harms, the chief data and analytics officer at UnityPoint Health (UPH), said prioritizing high-value data and analytics is not just a competitive advantage but a necessity for healthcare organizations looking to thrive in an increasingly complex and dynamic industry landscape. During her presentation, Harms encouraged attendees to define what constitutes valuable data and analytics, empowering teams to make confident decisions. Additionally, she highlighted the benefits of enterprise-wide partnerships over individual solutions and stressed the significance of measuring and communicating the impact of their work.

Broad Organizational Engagement and Activity-Based Costing Drive Savings of $4.3M in Improvements

Since 2017, the average hospital margins have declined significantly compared to years prior. Hawaii Pacific Health noted this decline as they continued to face unprecedented challenges with margins and revenue, all while the expenses continued to increase. Drae Ann Cranley and Jodie Laurito, both project managers at Hawaii Pacific Health, identified the need to transform cost management and began to work in hopes of moving towards value-based care to help with these unnecessary cost issues.

“If we improve patient outcomes, this will positively impact the ROIs in the future,” Cranley said. Activity-based costing was vital to moving forward toward better cost management.

Daily Engagement System and One-Stop-Shop Analytics Improves Engagement and Ambulatory Performance

As Froedtert Health & Medical College of Wisconsin entered 2021, they noticed a drop in engagement scores throughout the medical institution. The organization noted a similar decrease in 2022 and a decrease in caregiver engagement and patient access metrics at the start of FY 2023.

Viewing this as an opportunity for improvement, Robin Griswold, director of analytics consulting at Froedtert, recognized the need to revamp their analytics operations to enhance performance and outcomes across these areas. During this session, Griswold and Nicole King, MBA, manager of practice analytics at Froedtert, introduced and discussed the success of their Daily Engagement System (DES), which aims at improving operational efficiency while prioritizing patient value through empowered employees, became crucial.

From Intent to Impact: Using Data to Decrease Clinical Disparities and Create Healthy Communities

There are staggering clinical disparities in the United States. Drs. Alan Roga of Trulite Health and Olu Jegede of Cone Health joined Steve Miff of the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation to explain the importance of focusing on the path forward in their respective healthcare organizations. This ongoing problem is not just based on socioeconomics; it’s based on different factors like age, race, sex, etc. An example Dr. Roga used was the varying issues with a common disease like asthma. Many patients with asthma use Albuterol. It’s a popular medication that works well, especially within white communities. Unfortunately, Albuterol tends not to work well with other races. This is a prime example of clinical bias and the issues many face daily.