With the launch of Evergreen, billed as a new approach to EHR implementation and maintenance, consulting giant Deloitte claims it can help reduce EHR operating costs by as much as 30 percent.

Evergreen is designed to help reduce hospital system IT costs as healthcare moves to a value-based model more reliant on clinical and enterprise data, Deloitte executives said in taking its new methodology to market today.

Evergreen could help health systems save as much as 30 percent on EHR operating costs by using a global staffing model and a standardized design that works to improve clinical optimization, Deloitte says. Evergreen also leverages Deloitte's cyber risk services in providing advanced levels of data security and compliance.

In addition to supporting large providers and academic health centers, Deloitte intends to employ Evergreen to benefit mid-sized healthcare syst

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"Evergreen offers an innovative approach to achieving the expected benefits of clinical and revenue management systems in a post-reform world," said Mitch Morris, principal, Deloitte Consulting and Deloitte's global healthcare leader, in a news release. "It can provide clinicians with the software applications they prefer while supporting the clinical and financial results that health systems are looking to achieve."

The savings will enable providers to put more capital back into caring for their communities, he said.

Evergreen is modeled after Deloitte's mature services approach developed for Catholic Health Initiatives' Epic deployment, and it builds upon Deloitte's history in managing other application management services engagements. In addition to the core EHR benefits, Deloitte executives say Evergreen leverages Deloitte’s advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, which can improve clinical performance by gleaning insights from clinical and financial data. It also wraps clinical transformation and workflow optimization into the approach.

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"Evergreen draws upon Deloitte's world-class capabilities in strategy, consulting and application management services," said Tim Smith, principal, Deloitte Consulting and leader of Deloitte's healthcare technology practice, in a statement. “It brings the enterprise-wide view that organizations may need in retooling their cultures around a greater use of data."

Catholic Health Initiatives is the first provider to implement the full Evergreen approach, increasing the organization's ability to capture, analyze and share information.

"Evergreen is part of our vision to become a forerunner as healthcare moves to a value-based model," said CHI's CIO Michael O'Rourke, in a statement. “It will enhance our ability to deliver the right treatments to the right patients at the right time, with improved quality and reduced costs." 

Morris sees "tremendous" market potential for Evergreen. "Healthcare is an industry looking for tools and direction on how to make the transition to population health," he said. "We anticipate that providers in the U.S. and abroad will be very receptive to an approach that makes EHRs more relevant to their missions."