The Process and the Technology

Evidence based care (EBC) is coming and I'm pretty darn sure it's a good thing. The thought that my diagnosis and treatment will be based on research that statistically shows the best outcomes gives me some confidence in a world where I get two answers from two doctors on the same question. Last Thanksgiving I was at the table with a friend of my Mom's who is a case manager who focuses on EBC. There are basically three key things you "do" when implementing it.

• Scan the research on a regular basis to find out what it's telling you.
• Assess your processes to find out where you can bake compliance with the correct order sets/protocols into patient care.
• Continuously measure and update based on the results.

Obviously BI tools play a part in the measure piece. Without those you don't have a way to find out if you're getting the results you expected. I'm also very curious about how you turn a culture around to address the process piece. Physicians like to do things the way they like to do them. I suspect that standard order sets aren't terribly popular.

Last but not least how do you efficiently and effectively scan and look up all of that literature and research. What opportunities are there to use technology to search unstructured federated data quickly and effectively. Google of course comes to mind but how do you hone the edge of the search to get exactly what you want.

As a six sigma green belt I look at all of this and think about how beneficial it might be to reduce variability in outcomes and results. As I'm currently learning LEAN concepts I think about how much waste there might be in these systems and how can it be squeezed out, to benefit patients, consumers and the rising cost of healthcare. As an IT professional I can imagine the day when the lines between the process and technology blur....