Latest / Off the Chart: A Business of Medicine Podcast / S1 Ep196: Treating patients with half the chart, with Sandra Johnson of CliniComp
Transcript
- Unknown Speaker 0:00 When you only have 40% of the information you need, and the other is stuck in siloed systems, you're really treating the patient with half the chart. And so, it comes at not just a financial cost, but a human cost. We don't want clinicians making clinical decisions with only half of the information. Unknown Speaker 0:33 Welcome to Off the Chart, a business of medicine podcast featuring lively and informative conversations with healthcare experts, opinion leaders, and practicing physicians about the challenges facing doctors and medical practices. My name is Austin Latrell. I'm the associate editor of Medical Economics, and I'd like to thank you for joining us today. In today's episode, Medical Economics Managing Editor Todd Schryock sat down with Sandra Johnson, senior vice president of client services at Clinicomp, to talk about why interoperability still isn't where doctors need it to be. In a survey that Clinicomp conducted with Chime earlier this year, nearly half of health system CIOs named cost as their top barrier, and Sandra argues that the problem is now more about business than it is about technology. Today, Todd and Sandra get into what it means for physicians making decisions with only half the chart, why bolting new tools onto old systems won't close that gap, and why AI running on siloed data can only see part of the patient. And before we get into it today, just a quick reminder to join Physicians Practice on Thursday, October 29th, from 12 to 4 p.m. Eastern for a virtual Practice Academy series protecting your practice's revenue. The sessions cover payer contract negotiations, Medicaid and managed care changes, and supplemental reimbursement that often goes missed. You'll find a link to register for that in the show notes below. With that said, Sandra, thank you for joining us, and let's get into the episode. Unknown Speaker 1:50 I'm Todd Shrylock with Medical Economics, and I'm here today with Sandra Johnson, Senior Vice President of Client Services at Clinicomp, to talk about interoperability. Sandra, thanks for joining me. Unknown Speaker 2:01 Todd, thanks so much for having me. I appreciate Unknown Speaker 2:04 it. So, when you look at interoperability today, how would you characterize the gap between where we are and where we need to be? Unknown Speaker 2:13 Yeah. Well, I think the gap has shifted. We used to really focus on it being a technical gap, and as we're talking to organizations, we really hear their shift to be more of a structural and financial issue. We conducted a survey recently with Chime, and that really flipped the narrative. Unknown Speaker 2:33 We used to think about interoperability stalled because of you know technology and standards, and the CIOs really said that what's actually blocking them now comes down to cost and unwillingness. 47% said that cost is their top barrier. So it's really no longer a business model problem, Unknown Speaker 2:55 or it it is a business model problem, not not an engineering one. So when you say cost, like Unknown Speaker 3:03 who needs to pay? Like where's the cost coming from, and who is responsible for Unknown Speaker 3:10 it? Yeah, well, I think a lot of the data is still siloed across many systems, and so the cost isn't just financial; it also has a clinical impact. When you only have 40% of the information you need, and the other is stuck in siloed systems. You're really treating the patient with half the chart, and so it comes at not just a financial cost, but a human cost. We don't want clinicians making clinical decisions with only half of the information, and so it's really making sure that we're bridging that gap between siloed systems, having underlying architecture that can support and normalize data across disparate systems. Unknown Speaker 3:53 Now interoperability used to be one of those things that always ranked very high on our medical economic survey of physicians, of being one of the top problems in healthcare. It's steadily falling down the the list, and you don't hardly hear as much about it anymore. Unknown Speaker 4:10 I mean, what what do you attribute to that progress? How did we at least get to where we are today, even if we still have some steps to take? Unknown Speaker 4:18 Well, you know, I think Unknown Speaker 4:22 we have had some vendor consolidation, and so where we are improving, you know, there's been a lot of policies to help drive interoperability. We have the support of the government incentives, and so that's really helped us see a shift between connecting systems, having more integration and interfaces, Unknown Speaker 4:43 but then it's really I think the taking it to the next level is making sure that data is usable. So if you have the data but it's not fully connected and presented at the point of care, Unknown Speaker 4:56 that's still creating a challenge for how we're ex. Unknown Speaker 5:00 Executing it and and improving patient care. So while we've made great strides in in providing advanced integration and and connection points, we still need to make sure that that data is usable at the point of care. Unknown Speaker 5:14 What needs to happen to bridge this remaining gap? How do we finally solve this interoperability problem and get docs the data that they need in a usable format so that they can treat patients. What has to happen? Unknown Speaker 5:30 Yeah, I think we need to stop treating interoperability as a project and just a you know one-off how to how to address the challenges there. We really need to look at it from a new approach and treating it as a foundational model. And so, when we look at bolting on, Unknown Speaker 5:49 you know, technology or tools to solve that, we're really not building interoperability. And so, we have to look at the core infrastructure and make sure that we have a foundation that can scale to support that. So, working with healthcare systems Unknown Speaker 6:03 to really help implement scalable architecture Unknown Speaker 6:07 that will support their needs and grow with them over time is is important. Unknown Speaker 6:13 One of the other issues that I hear about from time to time is data blocking. Is that still a problem? Is that getting better? Is there anything being done to solve that? Unknown Speaker 6:26 Yeah, I mean, I think the survey actually talked about Unknown Speaker 6:30 you know vendor unwillingness and delays as being a barrier when it comes to data blocking. But regardless, it's it's really a market failure, and we all need to collectively work together to fix that issue, and so Unknown Speaker 6:44 you know, really changing to that you know partnership model and approach where we we Unknown Speaker 6:51 all own our part of the ecosystem and help bridge Unknown Speaker 6:55 those pieces and and get to an interoperable solution. Unknown Speaker 7:05 Hey there, Keith Reynolds here, and welcome to the P2 Management Minute. In just 60 seconds, we deliver proven, real-world tactics you can plug into your practice today. Whether that means speeding up check-in, lifting staff morale, or nudging patient satisfaction north, no theory, no fluff, just the kind of guidance that fits between appointments and moves the needle before lunch. But the best ideas don't all come from our newsroom; they come from you. Got a clever workflow hack, an employee engagement win, or a lesson learned the hard way? I want to feature it. Shoot me an email at kreynolds@mjhlifesciences.com with your topic, a quick outline, or even a smartphone clip. We'll handle the rest and get your insights in front of your peers nationwide. Let's make every minute count together. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next P2 Management Minute. Unknown Speaker 7:59 Patient identity matching is often cited as a problem in healthcare. Does that contribute to interoperability issues at all? Unknown Speaker 8:08 Yeah, I think it definitely can contribute to interoperability issues. So it's really again coming down to having underlying architecture can normalize data Unknown Speaker 8:17 so that you're able to ensure that you have a holistic view of the patient at the point of the care. I think you know clinical frustration is growing when Unknown Speaker 8:27 you don't have access to all the data you need when you need it, and so that's one component. But having underlying architecture that can help mitigate those challenges will set us up for success long term. Unknown Speaker 8:42 AI is. is is everywhere. Where does AI fit into the interoperability issue? Unknown Speaker 8:49 Yeah, it's definitely Unknown Speaker 8:51 you know a hot topic within the industry, and I think 100% of CIOs that we surveyed said that AI running on interoperable systems is important to the organization, so you know it's very clear that this isn't just a preference anymore. Unknown Speaker 9:07 But having siloed data means that your AI is working on personal information, and so we really wouldn't want to be leveraging Unknown Speaker 9:17 AI Unknown Speaker 9:18 on siloed data sets because then you're really not leveraging the holistic view of the patient, and so that same logic is going to apply with AI-driven care. We have to solve that challenge to make sure that the AI is implemented and offering the value that that we anticipate and went from Unknown Speaker 9:38 it. Payers, providers, vendors, regulators-they all have to work together for interoperability to work. Is there any one of those stakeholders that you see as the biggest bottleneck right now? Unknown Speaker 9:51 I don't think one individual or entity is is the bottleneck. You know, in the survey we connected, we we really. Unknown Speaker 10:00 That CIOs are looking for industry consortiums, and so really making sure that EHR vendors are working with health systems, taking on that co-ownership of the problem. Unknown Speaker 10:11 That's what's going to help Unknown Speaker 10:13 us really make an impact and see results. So I think that's very encouraging to hear. Unknown Speaker 10:19 We're shifting away from you know blaming Unknown Speaker 10:22 results on an individual or entity, and really just have a genuine appreciation for collaboration to make sure that we make strides in this area. Unknown Speaker 10:32 So, looking forward five years from now, what does interoperability look like? Unknown Speaker 10:38 Well, I I think it's having a truly connected and holistic view of a patient at the point of care. You know, so much of clinicians' frustration is is at technology being a barrier instead of an enabler, and so really getting to a point where we have you know systems and platforms in place that really can serve up data data in meaningful ways at the point of care, so you have a holistic view of the patient. That's what success looks like. We really want to improve patient care and outcomes, and so making sure that we are bridging all of that information that exists on an individual at the time and point of care is really gonna gonna be what is the game changer, and so really excited to be part of that Unknown Speaker 11:27 that ecosystem and and trying to solve those challenges. Unknown Speaker 11:31 Is there anything else that you think doctors need to know about interoperability, whether it's where we're at today or where we're going tomorrow? Unknown Speaker 11:39 You know, I I think from a provider's perspective, Unknown Speaker 11:44 we have a lot of fragmented data out there, and so I think from their perspective, it's really slowing down the clinical decision making. And so, Unknown Speaker 11:54 just partnering with their IT teams to make sure that they understand the pain points and challenges they're facing, so we can come up with scalable solutions that really improve the way that they're they're delivering care on a day to day basis. So really, just you know, wanting to make sure we have all key stakeholders Unknown Speaker 12:13 engaged and involved to make sure that they are solving what the real challenges are. Unknown Speaker 12:19 Very good, Sandra. Thanks for joining me today. Unknown Speaker 12:22 Thanks, I appreciate your time. Unknown Speaker 12:28 Once again, that was a conversation between Todd Shryock, managing editor of Medical Economics, and Sandra Johnson, senior vice president of client services at Clinicomp. Unknown Speaker 12:36 And don't forget to join Physicians Practice on Thursday, October 29th, from 12 to 4 p.m. Eastern for our virtual practice academy series, protecting your practice's revenue. Unknown Speaker 12:45 You'll hear practical strategies for strengthening payer contracts, keeping up with Medicaid changes, and capturing reimbursement that too often slips through the cracks. The registration link for that is in the show notes below. You're not going to want to miss it. Unknown Speaker 12:57 But with that said, my name is Austin Latrell, and on behalf of the whole medical economics and Physicians Practice teams. I'd like to thank you for listening to the show and ask that you subscribe so you don't miss the next episode. As always, be sure to check back on Monday and Thursday mornings for the latest conversations with experts sharing strategies, stories, and solutions for your practice. You can find us by searching Off the Chart wherever you get your podcasts. Also, if you'd like the best stories that Medical Economics and Physicians Practice publish, delivered straight to your email six days of the week. Subscribe to our newsletters at medicaleconomics.com and physicianspractice.com. Off the chart, a business of medicine podcast is executive produced by Chris Mazzolini and Keith Reynolds, and produced by Austin Latrell. Medical Economics and Physicians Practice are both members of the MJH Life Sciences family. Thank you.