AHIMA: ACOs may transform information managers role

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) can change the way health information is captured, maintained, used and shared. These care models also could drive evolution in the information tools required to manage that data, and in the role health information managers will play, according to a new white paper from the American Health Information Managers Association (AHIMA).

Much of the focus has been on the IT systems that will be necessary for operating an ACO, noted the authors of the white paper, titled “Accountable Care: Implications for Managing Health Information." However, “less apparent is the need for the information itself, which must be accurate, timely, protected and accessible.” 

High-quality information serves as the foundation for coordinated patient care and supports the financial viability of the ACO. In addition, institutions must develop an infrastructure of information management tools to support and leverage accurate health information. "Conducting analysis on the data captured and stored serves as the foundation by which analytics can support key clinical and business decisions. Ensuring data integrity through the management of accountable care facilitates this process," the white paper stated.

It cited several tools and processes to optimize health information analysis:

• Patient registries: Databases of confidential patient information from multiple information sources, which can be analyzed to understand and compare the outcomes and safety of healthcare.
• Predictive modeling: A process in which users can create sample scenarios or automated forecasting of probabilities and trends. Through the predictive modeling process, variable factors are introduced that are likely to influence future results upon which decisions can be made.
• EHR integration: “Accountable care will no doubt ramp up the pressure to provide timely and accurate care that ‘travels’ with the patient as he/she receives care from a variety of providers;” therefore, the need for interoperable EHRs will grow with the demand for improved coordination of care for patients who transition between hospital and ambulatory care venues, according to the white paper.

 
Accountable care also represents an opportunity for health information managers to "adapt, showcase their skills and lead." To prepare for a more prominent role, the paper recommended that health information managers:

• Position themselves to assume a leadership role in the planning and implementing of organizational changes necessary to support implementation of accountable care.
• Educate themselves and others not only about the coming regulatory changes but also the business environment in which ACOs will operate.
• Collaborate with all stakeholders, “including patients—their satisfaction depends in part on how information is managed; and individual providers—the source of the clinical information vital to the ACO.”
• Recognize this major change requires superior change management skills.

 
Click here to access the white paper.