How to differentiate your products with integrated patient matching solutions

Article By: Rhapsody

Blog Source From : https://www.healthcaredive.com/

With the economy continuing to tighten in 2023, healthcare technology product leaders need to position and deliver solutions that offer undisputed value in both the short- and long-term. One way to do this is by integrating identity data management capabilities directly into your products. 

The importance of communicating — and delivering — the value of your solutions to your provider customers and prospects has never been greater. 

With expenditures under the microscope and multiple projects competing for investment, you must increase focus on how your products deliver short-term returns to ensure they top the list of strategic IT investments your customers plan to make. 

One product investment worth prioritizing? Solutions to address the quality and accessibility of patient data.  

In this article, we’ll explore why and how patient matching can help you differentiate your product in a competitive market. 

As healthcare leaders tighten spending, product owners must demonstrate value

Healthcare IT spending will likely increase year-over-year in 2023. KLAS has reported that 80% of providers plan to increase investments in digital health over the coming few years.  

However, overall economic conditions are projected to continue tightening in 2023. According to an August 2022 report by Kaufman Hall, “U.S. hospitals and health systems are experiencing some of the worst margins since the beginning of the pandemic and 2022 continues to be on pace to be the worst year of the pandemic in terms of financial performance.” 

How are providers investing their IT dollars in 2023? Recent industry news reports show mega-mergers in the provider space and value-based care will continue as the year unfolds.  

McKinsey also expects an increase in the adoption of value-based care throughout the year as providers look to increase margins. And according to Forbes, access to health data for more personalized care and the continued application of AI in healthcare will be among the trends to keep an eye on.  

Accurate patient data is a requirement for digital transformation initiatives in healthcare

A common thread among these trends? A focus on the patient. More specifically, the quality and accessibility of patient data. 

A single, complete, current and accurate patient record must exist and serve as the foundation for the most important initiatives healthcare organizations are undertaking, including: 

• Merged organizations looking to quickly recognize the value that their combined entity can deliver
• Value-based care programs that need to accurately and effectively ensure optimized care is being delivered to each patient
• AI and advanced analytics initiatives that require accurate data to be effective
• Digital health technologies that must maintain the trust of the patients with whom they interact

The identity data imperative

The dynamic of the “single best patient record” is changing. The average health system has 18 different EHR vendors when looking all the way across affiliated providers and 18% of patient records are duplicates. Consider these statistics: 

• 86% of nurses, physicians and IT practitioners say they have witnessed or know of a medical error that was the result of patient misidentification. 
• Each duplicate record costs healthcare organizations over $1,950 per inpatient stay due to redundant medical tests and procedures. 

And as patients continue to seek care and service outside of provider settings, it is unrealistic to expect the EHR to serve as the single arbiter of the single best record for each patient that interacts with the organization. 

For most healthcare organizations, identity data management is an underlying challenge that may not always be top of mind but that impacts nearly every top-of-mind project. 

It is this intersection — patient-centric strategic initiatives, increased need to demonstrate short-term ROI from IT investments and how pervasive this challenge is for healthcare providers — that makes integrating identity data management into your solution such a compelling consideration. 

Supercharging your solution with an EMPI

By integrating a next-generation enterprise Master patient index (EMPI) with your solution, you’ll not only demonstrate your understanding of the challenge of inconsistent identity data within your prospective customers’ data ecosystems, but also provide a market-leading solution. You’ll be able to: 

• Help your customers ensure that only the most recent patient information is being used, no matter how they are connecting with the organization
• Provide optimal support for patient-centered initiatives — think digital front door, health equity and population health management
• Ensure current identity information is available to and used by the CRM for outreach and marketing communications
• Support your customers’ goals and initiatives associated with delivering quality patient care and reduction of medical errors due to accurate patient identification
• Reduce the costs — obvious and unseen — associated with duplicate records, including data stewardship time and resources

What about time-to-market? 

Next-generation EMPI solutions can be deployed as a service, drastically reducing the time it takes to get the solution up and running and minimizing impact on the rest of the product roadmap. EMPI technology has advanced to the point that it does not make sense to “build” when mature and proven solutions exist. 

A stronger solution with identity data management

As the healthcare IT space tightens, it’s critical to offer your customers a proven solution that aligns with their goals and helps them deliver tangible outcomes. By integrating identity data management capabilities into your product offering, you can demonstrate your commitment to helping your customers deliver higher-quality patient care, improve their business analytics and reduce costs. 

As you learn more about the benefits of integrating an EMPI solution into your product, there are key questions you should ask yourself — and some traps to avoid. Access the guide, Enterprise Master Person Index (EMPI): Everything healthcare product leaders need to know now, to understand how to evaluate EMPI capabilities so you can start supercharging your products and delivering additional value to your customers quickly.