Analytics help UPMC improve outcomes in patient-centered medical homes

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is touting success in improving patient outcomes through its data analytics program and a pilot project using patient-centered medical homes.

It invested $105 million last year in data analytics, according to a Wall Street Journal article.

The PCMH project saved $15 million in medical costs through centralized care managed by a single physician, according to the article. Comparing patients using the PCMH model with those who did not, the analytics program found particular value in PCMH care at six to 18 months after hospital discharge.

Because UPMC is also an insurer, it has the unique insight offered from an array of data, including not only clinical records, but also claims and drug-adherence data as well.

UPMC announced in April plans to commercialize analytics software developed for use by its own physicians. This cost-management software evaluates the best possible outcomes along with costs, such as the equipment used, physician time spent in the operating room and patient length of stay.

Such analysis is difficult for most hospitals to achieve because it requires a holistic view of operations generally unavailable through non-interoperable systems, Judy Hanover, an analyst for research and consulting firm IDC Health Insights, said.

As part of its data warehouse initiative, UPMC has integrated clinical and genomic information on 140 breast cancer patients. It's looking to integrate a range of data, including clinical, genomic, proteomic, imaging and financial that previously resided in separate information systems in its efforts to improve care for breast cancer.

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