There’s a new trend in the healthcare industry to adopt analytics software solutions to help organizations achieve clinical and financial success. Because of the high demand for analytics, there are many players touting their ability to delivery comprehensive solutions. With so many options available, health systems need to be able to cut through the marketing hype to find tools that provide the best value for their needs. Key solutions include an enterprise data warehouse and analytics software applications (from foundational to discovery to advanced). Other considerations include the organization’s readiness for cultural change, the total cost of ownership required, and the viability of the company providing the technology.

1. How to Choose the Best
Healthcare Analytics Software
Solution in a Crowded Market
― Paul Horstmeier

2. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Healthcare Analytics Survey
An eHealth Initiative survey asked
102 healthcare organizations about
their use of data and analytics.
They found that 90 percent use
analytics for quality improvement
and revenue cycle management.
Also, 82 percent identified the
importance of using analytics for
population health management
even though many aren’t using
analytics for that purpose yet.

3. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Healthcare Analytics Survey
A report from the CDC in 2013
reveals the following trends in
healthcare improvements
among those using analytics:
Improvements %
Patient care 82
Reduced readmissions rates 63
Overall health outcomes 62
Financial reporting capabilities 54

4. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Cut Through the Marketing Hype
With analytics in high demand
many players fill the market
touting software solutions.
Few actually have applications
that will overcome current data
challenges across multiple
business needs including
finance, research, and admin.
It’s critical to adopt a foundation
that can harness the full power
of all stored data.

5. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
The Foundation for Analytics: An EDW
A healthcare enterprise data
warehouse (EDW) is the most
important first step to becoming
data-driven.
In the EDW users can analyze
data for near real-time answers
to drive improvement initiatives.
With a unique ability to provide
a single source of truth an
EDW allows users without
technical skills to interact with
the data.

6. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
The Foundation for Analytics: An EDW
Texas Children’s Hospital used
an EDW to create near real-time
reports from data from across
the organization.
They discovered that each EDW
report costs 67 percent less to
build than an EHR report. The
savings are significant.
Reports that once took weeks or
even months to prepare can now
be generated in days, and
sometimes hours.

7. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
The Foundation for Analytics: An EDW
Sample EDW report:

8. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Analytic Applications for the EDW
Once the EDW is in place, the
organization has the necessary
foundation to begin to integrate
sophisticated analytics software.
These solutions integrate on top
of the EDW and enable users to
pull the relevant data.
The following three types of
solutions are designed to help
health systems get the most out
of their EDW and existing
source systems:

9. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Analytic Applications for the EDW
1. Foundational Reporting Analytics Applications
Foundational reporting apps
automate data access through
an efficient reporting and data
distribution system.
Dashboard and registries for
clinical and operational
conditions show useful data
trends and patterns.
Texas Children’s Hospital
implemented an EDW with
a foundational application,
Population Explorer.

10. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Analytic Applications for the EDW
1. Foundational Reporting Analytics Applications
Texas Children’s has reduced time required to
develop clinical improvement projects by 85 percent.
Sample Population Explorer visualization

11. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Analytic Applications for the EDW
2. Discovery Analytics Applications
Once the foundational reporting structure is in place, the
organization can advance to discovery applications and
mine the EDW’s data.
Users can drill down and find areas to prioritize for quality
and cost improvement initiatives, including the ability to:
• Identify areas with workflow variation and waste
• Discover new groups of patients to target for
population health management
• Stratify patient populations to identify areas for intervention
• Pinpoint opportunities by payer mix
• Analyze patients with high readmissions risk

12. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Analytic Applications for the EDW
2. Discovery Analytics Applications
Crystal Run Healthcare wanted an analytics solution to
improve clinical variation. They adopted a late-binding
EDW and the Cohort Builder and Comorbidity Analyzer.

13. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Analytic Applications for the EDW
3. Advanced Analytics Applications
Advanced clinical analytics
solutions are the key to solving
healthcare’s most pressing
challenges, such as population
health management, clinical risk
intervention, predictive analytics,
and ultimately, personalized
medicine.

14. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Analytic Applications for the EDW
3. Advanced Analytics Applications
A not-for-profit healthcare system
implemented an EDW, with
advanced analytics—Population
Analytics Advanced Application
Heart Failure Module.
The team established a
comprehensive heart failure
analytics platform in just 90 days.
The team now has baselines for
30- and 90-day readmission rates.

15. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Choosing an Analytics Software Vendor
Things to consider when choosing a vendor
Choosing the right EDW and
analytics software solutions
are critical first steps to
becoming data driven.
Highlighted on the following
slides are other considerations
when choosing the vendor.

16. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Choosing an Analytics Software Vendor
Cultural Change Readiness
Changing an organization’s
culture is necessary to realize
the full value of an analytics
investment.
There is a way to successfully
bring about this shift in culture
by gaining leadership’s (both
clinical and administrative) buy-
in and support.
The right vendor will assist
organizations with this process.

17. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Choosing an Analytics Software Vendor
Total Cost of Ownership
It’s important to measure the
total cost of ownership (TCO).
Add up the three-year labor
costs, licensing and support
fees, and hardware costs
associated with the solution.
You should expect initial value
realized within three to six
months. If a vendor can’t meet
that timeframe, look elsewhere.

18. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Choosing an Analytics Software Vendor
Company Viability
To determine a vendor’s
viability the following questions
must also be answered:
1. Longevity
2. Financial strength
3. Leadership
4. Resource investment

19. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Conclusion
To get the best ROI from any
analytics investment, it’s important
to assess the vendor.
They should offer an EDW and
various levels of analytics software
solutions covering every possible
healthcare analytics need.
Once health systems have the
right partner and technology
solutions, they will be well on
their way to becoming completely
data-driven organizations.

20. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
More about this topic
Gartner Report: Major Shift From EMRs to Data Warehousing and Analytics
Paul Horstmeier, SVP
Healthcare Analytics Adoption Model: A Framework and Roadmap (white paper)
Dale Sanders, SVP; David Burton, MD, SVP; Denis Protti, ScD
Anatomy of Healthcare Delivery Model to Transform Care Delivery
David Burton, MD, Senior Vice President and Former Executive Chairman
Texas Children’s Hospital: How to Improve Quality with an EDW
A health system case study
How to Evaluate a Clinical Analytics Vendor: A Checklist
Dale Sanders, SVP
Link to original article for a more in-depth discussion.
How to Choose the Best Healthcare Analytics Software Solution in a Crowded
Market

21. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
For more information:

22. © 2014 Health Catalyst
www.healthcatalyst.com
Proprietary. Feel free to share but we would appreciate a Health Catalyst citation.
Other Clinical Quality Improvement Resources
Click to read additional information at www.healthcatalyst.com
Paul Horstmeier brings 25 years of Fortune 500 and small business operations and
general management experience to Health Catalyst. He co-founded HB Ventures and
filled senior executive roles at HB Ventures portfolio companies. Within Hewlett-Packard,
Mr. Horstmeier launched and grew three different businesses, including co-founding
HP's commercial e-commerce business which later expanded to include the
management of the data systems and infrastructure for marketing operations across the
company. As Vice President of HP.com, he headed up a 700-person organization which was awarded
nearly every industry award for quality and innovation during his tenure.