Industry Spotlight: HIMSS Analytics . . . What Services are Your Facility Missing Out On?

I recently had an opportunity to talk with Jack Price, VP of HealthCare Organization Services at HIMSS, to learn about HIMSS Analytics. Most of you reading this newsletter are already familiar with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and many of you are members of this healthcare industry organization, as well as its regional chapters. However, not as many of you know about HIMSS Analytics and you may very well be missing out on some quality services available to your organization.

I have known Jack Price for 5 years now. We first met when Jack was CIO of Shore Health System of Maryland and they were embarking on the implementation of MEDITECH at their two-hospital system. In 2005, Jack took on a new challenge for which he was ideally suited. He now uses his in-depth knowledge of the healthcare IT industry to provide other healthcare organizations with information designed to help them realize their goals.

Q. Tell me a little about HIMSS Analytics and its history.

HIMSS Analytics supports improved decision-making for healthcare organizations, and healthcare IT companies and consulting firms by delivering high quality data and analytical expertise. The company collects and analyzes healthcare organization data relating to IT processes and environments, products, IS department composition and costs, IS department management metrics, healthcare delivery trends and purchasing related decisions. HIMSS Analytics is a wholly-owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

Back in 2004, HIMSS purchased the Dorenfest IHDS+ Database™ and created HIMSS Analytics. They hired Dave Garets as CEO to take the information and improve it. The database consists of over 5000 hospitals, including Critical Access Hospitals, and tracks over 100 applications and related equipment the hospitals use. Initially, information contained in the Dorenfest database was sold primarily to vendors to use for prospecting purposes. I was initially hired to manage the team which performs primary market research. In addition to providing vendors with valuable hospital data, HIMSS Analytics also performs perception studies, branding studies, and value proposition studies.

Q. Does HIMSS Analytics only provide information to vendors?

No. There’s actually a key service that HIMSS Analytics provides to hospitals as well: peer comparison reports. HIMSS Analytics has established a process whereby our Market Research Associates survey hospitals on an annual basis and update the information in our massive database. The database tracks information such as systems utilized, hardware, and buying plans. There are up to 30 different peer comparison reports available. Peers are categorized by type of facility, bed size, overall revenue, and services provided. Full reports, including graphical presentations, are provided to all organizations that participate in the survey process.

Q. Is the survey data used when evaluating facilities for the Davies Awards?

Although survey data is not used as a direct evaluation of a Davies Award applicant, it may be used indirectly for this purpose. The Nicholas E. Davies EHR Recognition Program, sponsored by HIMSS, encourages and recognizes excellence in the implementation of EHR systems. The program recognizes healthcare provider organizations that successfully use EHR systems to improve healthcare delivery. The Davies Award is based on an evaluation framework that involves a two-step process. Applicants are asked for assessment and documentation of their progress based on four key areas including management, functionality, technology, and overall value. It is through this application process that a survey participant may gather and report on valuable information about their facility’s progress from our EMR Adoption Model™.

Q. What is the EMR Adoption Model?

Understanding the level of EMR capabilities in hospitals is a challenge in the U.S. healthcare IT market today. HIMSS Analytics has created an EMR Adoption Model™ that identifies the levels of EMR capabilities ranging from the initial clinical data repository (CDR) environment through a paperless EHR environment. HIMSS Analytics has developed a methodology and algorithms to automatically score the approximately 4,000 hospitals in the HIMSS Analytics™ Database (derived from the Dorenfest IHDS+ Database™), relative to their IT-enabled clinical transformation status. The data provides peer comparisons for care delivery organizations (CDOs) as they strategize their path to a complete EMR.

Q. As a former CIO of a MEDITECH site, you know some of the challenges that small to mid-sized facilities face when implementing new technology or applications. What are some specific examples of how MEDITECH facilities can benefit from the products/services that HIMSS Analytics offers?

Okay, so after months of due diligence your Board has approved your request to enhance your EMR with CDSS and evidence-based everything. Your Docs will be armed with some of the best tools and knowledge available to ward off potential medical errors and prevent adverse events. The implementation goes well; the Docs are happy and your boss is happy. In fact, he wants you to present the results to the Board and to contrast the capabilities of our EMR before and after implementation.

Easy? Before the implementation began, I had updated my information in the HIMSS Analytics™ Database (derived from the Dorenfest IHDS+ Database™). The benchmarking reports provided me with my EMR Adoption score and some excellent PowerPoints I could use in my presentation. After the install, I contacted my MRA at HIMSS Analytics and she updated my information, recalculated my EMR Adoption score and provided me with a new set of benchmarking reports. I updated my presentation and I was now ready to tell my story to the Board. When I told the MRA that I was preparing for a Board presentation, she sent me a slide that included not only my hospital’s EMR Adoption score but the average and median scores for my State and for the nation. The Board was impressed. They could clearly see the level of transformation we achieved as well as where we are today. Now the Board was asking what it would take to achieve the next stage of EMR Adoption.

The EMR Adoption Model™ is a no-cost service that HIMSS Analytics provides to organizations that participate in our annual data collection. With close to 30 benchmarking reports, we can provide you with information you can use to show your Board what you have been able to accomplish with the funds they have allocated for Information Technology. It’s a great way to compare your progress from year to year.

For more information about the EMR Adoption Model™ or any other healthcare organization services, contact Jack Price at jprice@himss.org or 302-424-0742.

Jack Price is VP of HealthCare Organization Services for HIMSS. Jack has a B.S. degree in Biology and over 25 years of experience in the Healthcare industry. Having led technology change initiatives for several healthcare organizations, Jack has worked with a variety of vendors and technologies. In addition, Jack is a Charter member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), and currently serves on the EHR Workgroup of the American Healthcare Information Community (AHIC).