The healthcare industry is data-intensive. It generates enormous volumes of data relevant to numerous contexts, such as patient information stored on EHR, metrics for quality measurement, performance-related quantitative information, and so forth. This data is particularly useful for all key stakeholders at different levels. This is primarily why they are always keen to understand and evaluate the quality level of care they receive for the price they pay. Hence, the more transparent and accessible this information is, the more stakeholders can make more informed decisions.

Providers’ Perspective

Healthcare information is extremely crucial from the providers’ perspective. It helps them evaluate their performance levels, compare with other providers (both local and international), and eventually deliver better quality care. Driven by a sense of professional pride and reputation, physicians actively compare their performance with that of others, to identify improvement opportunities, and respond well in time to sustain survival.

More importantly, this information becomes extremely useful when the physician needs to refer complex patients to other high-quality providers, for instance, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, hospitals, etc.

This is where performance transparency matters the most. From influencing staffing needs to identifying surgical complications and to establishing communications ratings, performance transparency significantly impacts patient outcomes. As the provider’s performance level improves, the overall healthcare services delivery will eventually become more efficient.

Patients’ Perspective

In today’s digitally advanced healthcare sector, the patients also have access to multiple sources of provider performance data, which allows them to compare and contrast different providers. Ranging from government databases to individual patient online reviews, this publicly-available information is precious for the patients when making healthcare-related decisions. For instance, the patients can use CMS databases to assess the quality of care delivered by various hospitals, long-term care providers, and rehabilitation centers, as well as their key performance measures. This activity mainly aids the patients in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of different providers, hence, making more informed decisions.

More educated patients leap further to research care options specific to their diagnoses and care demands and seek the best provider that meets their requirements. Although these websites are rather complex to understand and difficult to interpret, they offer valuable information on direct comparisons. Patients with sound education can use these websites to compare metrics such as previous patient experience, safety ratings, mortality rates, and readmission rates, to evaluate the effectiveness of care offered.

Complexities and Solutions

However, as much as performance information is essential for evaluating providers’ quality of care, there are serious concerns over accessibility, reliability, and timely availability of such comparative information. Moreover, understanding complex information can itself be a daunting task at times. To add to the agony are manual comparisons of multiple measures, which is again a cumbersome and time-consuming process. Hence, although the performance insights acquired through such comparative activities are profoundly meaningful, one must be mindful of the cognitive burden it can entail.

Luckily, digital tech has simplified this process through automated benchmarking using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Deploying intelligent filters at various stages of research, AI enables the patients to narrow down their requirements to identify best-matched information. Information such as provider performance over time, facility type, comparisons with regional or national benchmarking groups, etc. can be sought within seconds. Hence, automation facilitates regular, inexpensive updates of performance comparisons, thereby encouraging ongoing consideration of improvement opportunities and achievements.

As technology progresses and value-based care models continue to expand, performance transparency is intended to yield mutual benefits for the providers as well as the patients. Providers can use this vital information to improve their workflows and be the “best in class” by interpreting useful comparison metrics. And the patients can make meaningful comparative benchmarking and enjoy value for money spent on care. Just make sure you have ‘eliminating performance blind spots’ as your goal of delivering high-quality care.