BCA Best Practices: Strategies for Success With MEDITECH Business and Clinical Analytics

MEDITECH Expanse is heralded for its modern, web-based design that emphasizes ease of use with user-friendly and intuitive digital tools. Business and Clinical Analytics (BCA) is a great example, as this web-based dashboard reporting tool makes it easy to visualize performance and outcomes using real-time data from within and outside the EHR. Even better—it comes with standard data sets and can provide analytics right out of the box to help healthcare organizations improve operations and financial performance. With the right planning, implementation, support, and data input, BCA can become a powerful analytics engine. Read on for tips and strategies for making the most of this tool.  

#1: Don’t Underestimate the Power of Communication  

Gone are the days when only a select few employees could decipher complex data outputs to gauge organizational performance. When it comes to analytics, unwieldy spreadsheets are being replaced with data visualization tools like BCA that provide meaningful insights and don’t require a data engineering background to understand. BCA is an empowerment tool that can transform the way non-technical staff use and share data. Encourage end users who might be intimidated by data analytics to embrace BCA’s user-friendly features with regular communication before, during, and after your BCA implementation. Share demos and use cases with staff to help them understand its value and how it will make their teams and organizations more efficient and effective. MEDITECH’s website offers a number of examples detailing how organizations have used BCA to unlock efficiencies and improve the quality of care.

#2: Define Your Users and Prioritize Training 

Early and ongoing training is essential to ensure a positive experience from the start and continued engagement. We recommend small class sizes with customized training from introductory to advanced levels. Resources for your BCA implementation can be broken into three main groups:  

• Cheerleaders: Identify key, visible members at your organization with a solid understanding of, and enthusiasm for, BCA. These team members can serve as a central point for communication of benefits and team member concerns.  

• Super Users: 
  • Dashboard/Dossier Creators: Super users who manipulate data. 
  • Dataset Creators: Super users, often programmers, who build custom datasets and create initial dashboards for others. 

• Core Teams: These are your consumers who need data in an easy-to-use format and may not want extensive customization. 

#3: Data Integrity Is Essential for Trust 

Data-driven decisions hinge on accurate, reliable data and on end-user trust. To gain both, it’s important to establish a culture of data awareness, responsibility, and governance to protect and leverage data effectively. Your data should be a reliable source of truth, and its integrity ensured with quality control ownership and continuous validation. Backup and recovery plans, data access controls, and end-user training and awareness all play a vital role in achieving reliable, clean data. “Time and again, I find myself giving customers the simple advice that good data in leads to good data out,” says Robyn Whelchel, senior managing consultant at Tegria. “Data integrity is essential to gain end-user trust and continued engagement.”  

Time and again, I find myself giving customers the simple advice that good data in leads to good data out.

ROBYN WHELCHELSenior Managing Consultant, Enterprise Systems, Tegria

#4: Know What To Avoid 

Every healthcare organization is unique with its own mix of technology, processes, and challenges. However, a few common roadblocks apply to nearly every stagnant BCA implementation, including: 

• Uncertain Starting Points: Clearly define where to begin the implementation process by identifying a starting point as a soft launch or analyzing data to prioritize certain departments or initiatives during rollout.  

• Fear of Information Release: As mentioned earlier, change can be hard. A new system and processes for BCA can spark leadership and end-user concerns around data sharing and transparency. Regularly communicate with all stakeholders (employees, patients, partners, etc.) about how their data will be used. Transparency helps alleviate fears and build trust.  

• Overreliance on IT: Avoid placing too much responsibility on your IT department by involving other stakeholders in the implementation. This ensures a variety of input for a more holistic (i.e., the big picture) perspective. A collaborative approach creates a feeling of shared ownership and mutual investment in the project’s success. 

For MEDITECH Expanse users, BCA has the power to transform clinical and financial operations, optimizing patient care and satisfaction. Success depends on effective stakeholder communication, cheerleaders to champion adoption, and clearly defined end users who are supported with modern training and reliable, accurate data.

Learn more about succeeding with BCA—Watch our BCA Pathway to Success Webinar.