Role of Engaging Physicians in Data-Driven Healthcare Environment in 2022

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians were attuned to the operational and financial challenges faced by most hospitals and healthcare systems. The shift to a value-based care model has put even greater emphasis on data to help healthcare finally understand the true cost of delivering care, including the cost of supplies, anticipated patient outcomes and how to reduce unwarranted clinical variation. The next phase in data transparency is for hospitals to analyze cost and variation at the physician and case level and give physicians access to data and evidence to fully understand cost-per-case, cost-per-discharge and patient outcomes. The data combined with clinical evidence will enable supply chain teams and physicians to work together to understand where the data supports the use of a particular product (and consequently where it doesn’t) and develop strategies that will reduce unwarranted variation. Let’s use antimicrobial mesh envelopes as a hypothetical example of how we can tie data and clinical evidence to local outcomes to understand if a premium product is appropriate for an organization. When we put this information into physicians’ hands, it will facilitate more informed, collaborative conversations with supply chain teams about product selection and utilization, ensuring a patient-first approach as the organization pursues cost optimization strategies. After a data-informed discussion, the physicians agreed to follow evidence-based guidelines to adjust the use of this product only for patients at high risk.