Grappling with healthcare costs that are rising six to seven percent every year, leading hospitals are using business intelligence (BI) technology to determine how to offer better care for less money. Poudre Valley Health System (PVHS), a locally owned, non-profit healthcare provider in Fort Collins, Colorado, is making progress with Information Builders WebFOCUS BI platform. Poudre Valley's clinical quality efforts will focus on medical chart auditing, patient safety predictions, statistical analysis projects, and reports on clinical documentation compliance. WebFOCUS presents clinical, financial, and human resources (HR) information through BI dashboards in conjunction with interactive drill-down reports and a balanced scorecard system.

"The insight we obtain from our clinical quality efforts guides corrective action within the organization and enables us to provide a higher level of care, such as a need for extra documentation or better training in certain areas," said DaRon Zimmerman, director of Decision Support at PVHS. "WebFOCUS tracks compliance down to the facility, department, or user levels to find recurring problems."

For example, approximately 100 managers and directors use WebFOCUS to analyze premium-pay scenarios, such as overtime, double time, call backs, extra shifts, and on-call pay, all of which must be paid in addition to the staff's regular salary costs. An HR dashboard helps managers compare budget amounts to actual expenditures to minimize these premium pay situations. In the six months that have transpired since implementing this WebFOCUS report, PVHS has decreased overtime hours by 16 percent and decreased all premium pay hours by 25 percent -- even as patient volume has increased.

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Analysts use WebFOCUS to study five years of historical information contained in electronic health records. The ultimate goal of this research is to devise a safer environment for patients and to minimize costs for the hospital. WebFOCUS presents metrics, such as cost per unit of service, a ratio that compares patient volume, current expenses, and monthly budget projections. This helps the hospital manage direct and indirect costs associated with salaries, supplies, and equipment.

Thanks to its relentless focus on quality, PVHS was the only healthcare provider in the U.S. to receive the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the culmination of a 10-year journey during which PVHS dedicated itself to improving every aspect of its healthcare business, including clinical quality, customer service, and staff, physician, and volunteer satisfaction. PVHS will continue to use WebFOCUS BI technology to measure and report on progress.

"At a time when the entire U.S. healthcare industry is looking for tangible ways to boost quality and cut costs, Poudre Valley Health System has shown how business intelligence technology can help healthcare organizations achieve better care and safer outcomes," said Gerald Cohen, president and CEO of Information Builders.

This BeyeNETWORK news item contains information from a recent press release by the company mentioned.