Insights: Take it to heart – A cardiologist’s guide to leveraging clinical analytics

In this episode of the MGMA Insights podcast, we're joined by Joe Ebinger, MD, clinical cardiologist and director of clinical analytics for the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Ebinger is passionate about using data-driven solutions to improve healthcare quality, decrease costs and increase value at a population level. 

Don’t quite have time to listen to the entire episode? No worries. We’ve compiled a handful of highlights from Ebinger’s interview for your convenience:

• (6:53) “Data for data’s sake isn’t worth anything. What you want to be able to do is take that and turn it into something that is actionable.”
• (12:04) “There’s so much learning that can be done, and I think that as physicians, we have to recognize that what we do every day isn’t just a learning opportunity for us in that individual patient encounter, but it can be used to improve the quality of care for patients across the board. There’s no better teacher than experience.”
• (17:48) “The hard part within healthcare systems is there’s no single platform that can handle all aspects of patient care. The EHR doesn’t measure the hemodynamics in our cath lab or run the CT scanners. The EKG machines don’t talk to finance. Registry data is extracted from notes and submitted to external systems. It’s really pulling this all together, which I think is one of the most integral parts of what we do.”
• (22:14) “Healthcare providers and physicians in general are incredibly skeptical. They’re not just going to take your word for something. So, if you are saying something, you have to show them and be specific.”
• (32:47) “There’s so much clinically available data that you can look at. Don’t just let it float out into the ether. Harness it. Validate it and integrate it with the disparate data sources across your institution and partner with those caring for patients. If you can do that, you’re going to be able to really improve the lives of your patients every day.” 

Here are some links and references related to this week’s show: 

• Data Mining Techniques Could Improve Cancer Gene Therapies 
• One-Third of Young Providers Overwhelmed by Patient Data, Analytics
• The data-driven transformation in healthcare: Cedars-Sinai CIO outlines his strategy
• How big data could revolutionise the healthcare industry
• Digital Tools Show Promise for Helping STEMI and NSTEMI Patients Avoid Readmission

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We love hearing from listeners about the show. If you have topics you’d like us to cover or experts you’d like us to interview, email us at podcasts@mgma.com or reach out to MGMA Sr. Editor and podcast host Daniel Williams on Twitter at @MGMADaniel. 

MGMA Insights is presented by Decklan McGee, Rob Ketcham and Daniel Williams.

Thanks to Biome, Midmark and Solutionreach for sponsoring this episode of MGMA Insights. 

To learn about how the Biome solution, powered by artificial and augmented intelligence, can improve your cardiovascular service line’s performance today, visit biome.io/solutions. 

For more on how Midmark is transforming healthcare delivery through their real-time locating system, visit midmarkRTLS.com.

To explore how Solutionreach can help improve your organization’s healthcare communication, visit srhealth.com.