Mercy Named "Analytics Wizard"

Data innovation shrinks costs, keeps patients healthier

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May 25, 2016, 06:15 ET

ST. LOUIS, May 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- What began a decade ago as a vision for a unified electronic patient record has propelled Mercy into a model of care driven by information. Today, Mercy's physicians, care team and leaders have intelligence – not just data – at their fingertips boosting productivity and driving improvements that minimize unnecessary care and cost, and keep patients healthier.

Mercy's move from collecting data to delivering information has earned its IT division, Mercy Technology Services, international recognition as an Analytics Wizard by software giant SAP. With hundreds of global applicants from all industries, the win places Mercy in the company of Reuters, the international news agency, and China Customs, customs for the People's Republic of China.

Mercy's analytics program, which is now commercially offered to other hospitals and health systems, has helped the organization save $9 million in surgery-related costs, eliminated or minimized the use of certain products and established best practices across Mercy's surgery departments for better patient results and more cost-effective care.

"We organize millions of records from many sources, including the electronic health record (EHR), financial systems and external data." said Curtis Dudley, Mercy's vice president of performance solutions. "What used to take weeks to deliver, we embed where and when it's needed – back into the EHR or through custom dashboards with on-the-spot exploration for instant answers."

The work has earned Mercy multiple awards and recognition this past year, including:

InformationWeek's Elite 100 Innovator award
A spot among the 18 Most Innovative Healthcare Companies, a list compiled by Becker's Hospital Review.
Gartner's Supply Chainnovator award
Mercy's perioperative leader, Betty Jo Rocchio, honored as One of the Most Powerful Women in Healthcare IT
Voted Health Care's "Most Wired" advanced category

Mercy, named one of the top five large U.S. health systems in 2016 by Truven, an IBM company, serves millions annually. Mercy includes 45 acute care and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, more than 700 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 40,000 co-workers and more than 2,000 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has outreach ministries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

MTS provides and manages technology solutions for Mercy, the nation's first health care provider accredited by Epic, to offer a full suite of electronic health record solutions to other hospitals, including Epic in the cloud, implementation and optimization. MTS' award-winning data analytics integrate care delivery, manage costs and support a model of care that keeps patients healthier and out of the hospital. Visit mercytechnology.net.

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