Study find US Healthcare lacks Data Standards, Registries

A study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) examined the use of clinical data to support value based healthcare and concluded the US should be doing more to improve data standards and diseases registries. The study looked at 12 countries and their efforts to improve patient health outcomes while lowering costs.

According to Information Week article on the study:

BCG researchers also identified four factors necessary for the successful implementation of a value-based healthcare system:

--Clinical engagement. Researchers' examination of 13 registries in five countries revealed that improvement in health outcomes are most effective when clinicians themselves are responsible for collecting and interpreting data and when clinicians lead the charge in clinical improvement.

--National infrastructure. A nationwide infrastructure must comprise common standards for tracking diagnoses, treatments, outcomes, and costs at the patient level as well as a limited number of shared IT platforms and a common legal framework within which to regulate the use of patient data.

--High-quality data. The most effective way to collect relevant data is through disease registries that track groups of patients' health outcomes who have the same diagnosis or who have undergone the same medical procedure. By analyzing the data, providers and payers can identify, codify, and promote more effective treatment protocols and enhance cost-effective care.

--Outcome-based incentives. The healthcare industry must use outcome data to drive incentives in the healthcare system. The data-driven incentive measures should spur changes in the way clinicians practice, payers reimburse, and suppliers of drugs and medical devices develop and deliver products and services.

The US has mixed results when it came to disease registries -- some being amongst the best, while others sorely lacking in data. The study praised efforts by Kaiser Permanente and Intermoutain Healthcare for their efforts patient outcomes amongst their members and providing incentives to physicians to use best practices based on outcomes-research.

In another related story Kaiser Permanente has launched a  health exchange pilot with the Social Security Administration to fast track disability claims and processing. The large-scale pilot is the first of its kind to use the Nationwide Health information exchange to transmit/exchange patient records.