Esprit Health White Papers

Esprit Health has published a series of White Papers and presentations to update the healthcare community on the latest technology issues and solutions. We have provided a brief abstract of each publication below. You can also view and download your free copy in PDF format by clicking the “View White Paper” link following each abstract.

We will be adding additional papers as they are published, so bookmark this page and check back often!

Abstract

“Healthcare Information Technology: The Need for Radical Change”

The financial pressures of managed care and the subsequent development of integrated networks of care have led health care organizations to function in entirely new ways. Today's healthcare organization recognizes constant improvement of medical care processes as their core competency and the driver of improved quality and cost outcomes. Medical care processes encompass prevention as well as intervention and are no longer primarily hospital based. Thus, it has become necessary for a new paradigm in information technology investment that places priority on workflow integration, seamless information flow, and easy healthcare team member access to medical care process information.

In this environment medical information systems built primarily to place orders and capture charges are out-dated and need to be replaced with information systems that have a first priority to support medical care workflow. Charge captures and costs are a consequence of medical care workflow, not the cause.

A new approach is needed that provides a means for "ordering" all workflow activities in the healthcare organization, not just the charge items. The planned activities then become the basis for coordinating care among the various healthcare disciplines, and for automatically documenting the care provided. Charges are a byproduct of providing medical care.

The focus on medical care process helps physicians, clinicians, and managers coordinate the activities of the health care team in quantifying costs for negotiating managed care contracts, and delivering quality medical care services - services that are provided according to the best available practices of medical science.

This white paper explores the need for medical care information systems that support structured protocol-centric approaches to medical care.

A PDF version of this eSphere White Paper
is available for viewing by clicking on the following link:

The Need for Radical Change

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Click below for a free download.

Abstract

“The Protocol-Centric Approach to Healthcare Information Technology: A New Paradigm”

A new paradigm in healthcare informatics has been conceived that is designed and built with protocols at its core. This “protocol-centric” approach brings knowledge based decision support and best practices to the healthcare enterprise. It is based on the concept that:

	All work in healthcare (clinical and non-clinical) is a process that can be modeled – describing a series of activities, sequenced over time, which may have dependent relationships, and incorporates branching decision points leading to a desired outcome.
	The smaller the process the more consistent or standard it becomes.
	Protocols describe the What, Who, When, Where and Why of a process. They deliver clear expectations and empower clinicians to act on behalf of the medical decision-maker.

The protocol-centric approach enables the streamlining and integration of all of the healthcare processes. It seamlessly links a complex array of research, clinical and non-clinical processes into a logical flow. This allows the organization to become extremely efficient, achieve higher productivity and lower costs. The medical research and care delivery and documentation tasks flow from the protocol as orders are initiated based on the selected protocols.

Since today’s knowledge and tomorrow’s wisdom is built from yesterday’s documentation, the ability to look at problems and their outcomes promotes understanding and ultimately improves quality. Improved communication of patient status and coordination of care among the healthcare team, and real-time monitoring and compliance to both the research and care process while it is occurring are natural by-products of its use.

Embracing this approach, the protocol centric organization can effectively set the stage to manage change, from re-structuring the culture to process reengineering to enterprise wide planning. The strategic vision for the protocol-centric approach is guided by the following principles:

	The “true” source of all data is the patient, the patient’s protocol(s), and the unplanned problems that arise from their interaction.
	Healthcare is multidimensional and requires the ability to view health information from different perspectives.
	The ability to model every process and describe its workflow ensures that approved processes are followed and errors of omission and from lack of knowledge are eliminated.
	A robust Data Model is the foundation for capturing and disseminating enterprise knowledge and provides a standard common language for improved communication among all participants in the healthcare delivery process.
	A single, longitudinal patient record, encompassed by the protocol integrates all relevant data across the continuum and provides the core data set for information retrieval by everyone.

Recognizing this, the protocol-centric design has medical care data as the core source of truth. Collecting health data across the continuum ensures that data is always retained and available in a secure repository. The need for this data comes from four distinct but separate areas. Each area has some data needs that are unique and some that are shared by one or more.

The protocol-centric approach is the key that enables all encounters and associated data collected to be accessed to meet the information needs for:

	Research: Provide comprehensive support to the research process including monitoring for compliance, assuring the scientific quality and integrity of the data and protecting the researcher’s ownership of the data
	Clinical: Planning and providing clinical care and the ability to respond appropriately to all unplanned clinical events
	Administrative: Provide the necessary patient volume and related resource consumption data for planning and budgeting of resources to meet the needs of the researchers
	Regulatory: Assist researchers and clinicians to meet regulatory requirements for Adverse Event Reporting and insure compliance

Summary

The protocol-centric approach empowers today’s healthcare enterprise to realize the vision of a new paradigm for medical decision-making, health information data management, and reporting. This new paradigm is forged upon the solid foundation of the following principles and concepts:

Protocol Centric Approach

Multi Dimensional View Model

Longitudinal, core patient record

Workflow

Knowledge based Decision Support

Robust Data Model

Access to Data

A PDF version of this eSphere White Paper
is available for viewing by clicking on the following link:

Protocol-Centric Approach

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Click below for a free download.

Abstract

"Strategic Technology Vision for eSphere"

Esprit Health has created eSphere, a protocol-centric system for data collection and knowledge based for the healthcare enterprise. It is based on the following principles:

	All work processes can be modeled – they are a series of activities, sequenced over time, which may have dependent relationships, and incorporates branching decision points leading to a desired outcome.
	The smaller the process the more consistent or standard it becomes.
	The “true” source of all data is the patient, the patient’s protocol(s), and the unplanned problems that arise from their interaction.
	A single, longitudinal patient record must integrate all data across the continuum.
	Healthcare is multidisciplinary and requires the ability to view health information from different perspectives.

This new paradigm links the complex array of healthcare processes into a logical flow. Care delivery flows from the protocol as orders are initiated based upon it, and documentation is by exception.

The purpose of this technical white paper is to introduce Esprit Health technologies and explain how they are applied in eSphere. The intended audience includes CIOs, application designers, data analysts and database administrators.

A PDF version of this eSphere White Paper
is available for viewing by clicking on the following link:

Strategic Technology Vision

Acrobat Reader 6.0 or greater is needed to view PDF documents.
Click below for a free download.

Notice

The information in this publication is subject to change without notice and is provided "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION REMAINS WITH RECIPIENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL ESPRIT HEALTH BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION), EVEN IF ESPRIT HEALTH HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

The limited warranties for Esprit Health products are exclusively set forth in the documentation accompanying such products. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting a further or additional warranty.

This publication does not constitute an endorsement of the product or products that were tested. The configuration or configurations tested or described may or may not be the only available solution. This test is not a determination or product quality or correctness, nor does it ensure compliance with any federal state or local requirements.

Product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.