Encore Health Resources Launches New Health Analytics Practice
Encore Health ResourcesGina Jesberg, (203) 545-3186 (mobile)Director of Communications
, an award-winning health-information technology (HIT) services company, announced today the launch of its Health Analytics consulting practice focused on “smart enterprise data.” An adjunct to the of Encore’s suite of services and solutions at HIMSS in February, the Health Analytics practice helps organizations define their analytics roadmap – including the design and implementation of maturing health data governance structure and process. The new practice will be led by Encore’s newest . Ms. Thomas brings more than 25 years of experience in HIT with a focus on analytics, surveillance, and the re-use of data to support the quality, safety, and efficiency of performance-improvement efforts currently underway across the U.S. healthcare industry.
The new practice addresses the needs of healthcare organizations awash in a sea of disconnected data and struggling to understand the relationships between quality, safety, productivity, and cost. The shifting landscape of care delivery and reimbursement models – from fee-for-service to fee-for value -- increasingly demands the leveraging of enterprise data as an essential part of continuous performance improvement. Encore’s full suite of health analytics services will help health systems understand the balance of people, processes, and technology needed to support their information needs in today’s rapidly changing and challenging environment.
As value-based models evolve, Encore’s range of innovative smart, skinny solutions will help clients capture metrics that extend beyond care outcomes to measures of overall population health and wellness. Encore’s Health Analytics practice will help organizations plot an achievable course to demonstrate that they are delivering high-quality clinical outcomes when treating patients and keeping people well.
In contrast to the widespread industry focus on “Big Data,” Encore’s “Smart Skinny Data” strategy is founded on the capture of precise information from multiple systems and sources and focuses on what actually needs to be analyzed at any given time – evolving along the continuum of reform. Beginning with the end in mind, Encore’s Health Analytics practice consultants work with clients to prioritize their measurement and analytics needs – aligned with overall enterprise objectives.
The new practice will offer a full array of health analytics services, from strategy and roadmaps to warehouse selection and from implementation to performance improvement. A key element of Encore’s Health Analytics practice is data governance: too many organizations are learning that capturing massive amounts of data in a warehouse without proper data governance creates a lack of lineage and trust – therefore making it impossible to act on the insights that the data provides.
“To survive and thrive in this changing healthcare landscape, our clients will need to define a plan now to harness the untapped value in data across their enterprise – to build the skills, processes, and enabling technologies that turns data into information that can be used to drive new levels of performance,” said Ms. Thomas. “At Encore, we know that this will require our very special breed of consultants: staff that can bridge the gap between clinical and technical teams. These ‘bridge’ consultants have their feet in both worlds and the communication skills required to translate clinical needs to technologists and technical realities back to clinicians.”
Ms. Thomas has previously served in leadership roles in strategic consulting, product management, and product marketing. She brings Encore and its clients a seasoned perspective on how to drive measurable results through the use of business intelligence in healthcare. In her new role, Ms. Thomas will lead the Health Analytics practice charged with helping clients define and implement a health analytics roadmap. Previously, Ms. Thomas was vice president of portfolio strategy and design at Premier Inc., where she led the redesign of the analytics and surveillance portfolio and the social business platform. Prior to joining Premier, Ms. Thomas was an associate partner in the healthcare provider practice of Global Services for IBM. There, she created and led the health analytics strategy practice and was a fellow in the IBM Center for Healthcare Management. She joined IBM in 2005 on the acquisition of Healthlink, where she successively led the thought leadership, strategic services, and Eclipsys service areas.
Ms. Thomas has authored a white paper to help clients understand the “smart skinny” approach behind the new Health Analytics practice she leads. It is entitled, and itis now available on the page of site.
“We will leverage Randy’s extensive experience in healthcare and business intelligence to lead our Health Analytics practice – part of our Value-based Performance Improvement lifecycle of services. We’re particularly excited about the success of our innovative ‘smart, skinny data’ CoreANALYTICS tools in our continuous quest for innovation,” said Dana Sellers, CEO, Encore Health Resources. “Our goal is to help our clients focus on capturing the right data accurately and leveraging that data into actionable intelligence -- all while reducing cost as well as the time required to make measurable improvement in clinical outcomes and performance.”
Founded by healthcare veterans Ivo Nelson and Dana Sellers, Encore provides information technology consulting services and solutions to assist healthcare organizations with a wide range of strategy, advisory, implementation, process-redesign, and optimization activities. Encore focuses on capturing data and establishing the analytical capabilities to meet the evolving information and reporting needs for health care providers to improve and document clinical and operational performance.