Healthcare IT is very good at collecting data, but are we using it to make good decisions?

[See also: 'Data-driven culture' gets to Stage 7]

The Healthcare Business Intelligence Forum, which will take place in Washington, April 16-17, is being presented to help healthcare organizations gain insights from their data to improve care and reduce costs.

There’s never been a more important time for an event like the forum, said Chris Anderson, program manager.

[See also: Benchmarks: Changes are afoot for clinical and business intelligence]

"As healthcare moves to new models of care – ACOs, patient-centered medical homes and the like – data will play an increasingly important role in how care is delivered and providers run their businesses," Anderson said. "The Healthcare Business Intelligence Forum will help healthcare organizations put to use the data they hold in their EHRs and outside data to adapt to new care and payment models, and demonstrate how analytics can play a role in improving both care quality and operational efficiency."

The forum’s goal, Anderson said, is to give providers of all sizes a better understanding of how to assess their level of analytical maturity and then identify strategies to use data and analytic tools to improve business operations and clinical care.

The forum emphasizes peer-to-peer learning, and many of its 13 sessions feature provider speakers who will share their experiences and best practices for effectively using business intelligence tools.

The Forum Agenda

Glenn Steele, MD, president and CEO of Geisinger Health Systems, one of the nation’s largest integrated health systems, will deliver a keynote address April 17. Geisinger is one of the most advanced users of healthcare analytics, and Steele will address what he sees as the sweet spot in the evolution of healthcare: combining data and behavior change to improve patient care and the bottom line.

"Everybody has been – appropriately – whacking fee-for-service, and that's OK," Steele told Healthcare IT News. "I'm alright with that. You have to change the incentives, but you also have to enable people with timely feedback about what they're doing, and the consequences of that, and what they should be doing. And that's all about data."

Some of the other 22 presenters and their topics include:

• Ray Hess, vice president information management, Chester County Hospital ("Merging Clincal and Business Intelligence to Manage Readmission Risk")
• J.D. Whitlock, director, clinical and business intelligence, Catholic Health Partners ("Analytics & Technology Requirements for Effective Management of an ACO")
• Nicole Heim, CIO, Information Systems, Milford Regional Medical Center ("Effective Integration with a Health Information Exchange")
• Edith Dees, vice president, CIO, Holy Spirit Health System, ("Planning & Strategy for Healthcare Organization Change")
• Thompson Boyd, patient liason, Hehnemann University Hospital ("Leveraging Data to Increase Patient Engagement")
• Robert Lahita, MD, chairman of medicine, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center ("Managing Patient Admissions to Improve Care Quality and the Bottom Line")
• Arumani Manisundaram, director, Center for Connected Health, Adventist Healthcare ("Analytics Tools for Population Health Management")

The forum includes a networking reception from 4:45-6pm on April 16, and multiple other opportunities to interact with attendees, sponsors and speakers. It will be held at the Renaissance Washington DC Downtown Hotel in Washington.

Learn more at healthcarebusinessintelligenceforum.com