Physician Data Analytics and Patient Health

Last month, I discussed how Meaningful Use (MU), Clinical Quality Measures (CQMs), and data analytics go hand in hand. So, how can we use this information to really impact patient health?

In a recent article and commentary (MIT Technology Review, Sept. 18, 2013), Esther Dyson discussed how we really need to “fix health behavior.” She described a new challenge among small U.S. cities to see which one can most improve its health, measured by such factors as weight, blood pressure and sick days. According to Dyson, tracking a few key elements related to overall patient health and adding several quantified self-evaluation tools can have a major impact on a person’s health. This requires changes in diet, behavior and exercise patterns – perhaps even through computer “gaming” and friendly competition, basic blood level indicators, tracking sleep patterns – all to provide an overall “picture” back to the person on their health.

Recently, the city of Fort Worth decided to become America’s first large city to participate in the “Blue Zones Project.” This project focuses on nine key indicators of community health and well-being including: keeping active, having a strong sense of purpose, relaxing more, eating less, eating more vegetables, belonging to a church, putting family first, associating with healthy friends, etc.



So, looking at both fixing health behavior and the goals of a Blue Zones Project, how can you use your electronic health records (EHR) and data analytics to impact the health of your patients? With just a few more self-assessment questions, your EHR could track these indicators and allow you to “sort” on patients with the high-risk indicators of poor health and poor health habits. Not only are you evaluating direct clinical values, you are tracking the “social” factors leading to good or poor health.

By providing your high-risk patients with this information on a regular basis, you could use IT tools to impact their long-term health. A little extra time at the front-end point of care can have major impact on the long-term outcomes and health of your patients. As a physician, you just have to decide to “do the right thing” for your patients, even if you do not get paid extra for tracking these additional indicators of health.

As our country moves from sick care to health care, the ability to track and impact the long-term health of patients will become increasingly more important. You can choose to lead the pack right now!