Healthcare META Group's Healthcare Information Technology Strategies service recently released a report on the health of IT systems in U.S. hospitals. The consultancy created a six-stage evaluation system that outlines what it sees as a mandatory evolution in IT capability. At the top of the food chain is the capability to perform clinical outcomes and disease management.
Data mining is a critical enabler of both applications, according to the report's lead author.
Our assumption is that, by the year 2002, if you are not running fully those applications you will not survive. Outcomes measurement involves the analysis of patient records to determine the cost and effectiveness of existing clinical protocols. Disease management programs track care of patients with known diseases and look for proactive interventions to retard or prevent the onset of these diseases. The Six Stages of IT Development META sees hospitals as needed to progress through six stages of IT development. Currently, less than 4 percent of hospitals rank at stage six.