LENEXA, Kan., Aug. 21, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mediware® Information Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:MEDW) announced that Plymouth, Mass.-based Jordan Hospital is the latest hospital to license the InSight Performance Management software to monitor enterprise-wide performance programs. Plans for the product include utilizing the dynamic dashboard and powerful statistical process controls to track progress in defined Lean improvement initiatives; monitor the hospital's annual strategic plan; and enable departmental managers with dashboards to track operating performance.
The management team at Jordan, led by CEO Peter Holden, has been developing performance and quality improvement plans for the past four years. More recently they also launched a formal, Lean-driven improvement program to help the hospital realize its high performance goals. This includes a dedicated focus on processes serving patients, families and staff. Critical to the effort was finding a technology solution to automate the collection of data, enable easy monitoring of performance in key areas, and allow hospital staff to track the effectiveness of programs over time. They selected Mediware's InSight Performance Management software.
"I'm a firm believer that you can't manage what you can't measure," said Jordan Hospital CEO, Peter Holden. "Across our organization we track hundreds of performance metrics focusing on quality and efficiencies in patient care. Our problem, however, is that the data we need is in multiple locations, can be difficult to access, and takes time to manipulate into a useable format.
"To be truly proactive in our measurements, we needed to break down barriers in our systems and make it easy for our staff to monitor their performance. By using InSight we can automate our data gathering and utilize a common measurement system that is aligned with our management system and easy to use."
The first phase of the InSight rollout includes building an initial set of approximately 50 indicators targeting mostly clinical programs. These include HCAHPS for patient satisfaction; Core Measures such as acute MI, pneumonia, ED wait times and immunizations; Outcome Sciences for strokes; Nursing indicators such as falls and falls with harm; and patient flow during Emergency Department hours.
Looking ahead to phase two, Jordan plans to expand quality indicators for key departments such as Nursing and Quality, as well as creating comprehensive financial indicators to track cash, EBITDA margins, and debt ratios. In phase three, which is expected to start in Fall 2012, Jordan plans to continue expanding core department indicators as well as introduce indicators to track LEAN initiatives, strategic plan metrics, and possibly Meaningful Use Stage 2 measures.
"Ultimately we want every Jordan Hospital manager to have performance dashboards to help them easily track their progress against our defined goals," continued Holden. "By using a technology like InSight, we are able to effectively create information out of the mounds of data in our core systems. It also enables us to view our performance over time, understand the impact of changes we put in place, and manage our organization based on the facts."
Jordan's focus on quality and efficiency is clearly making an impact in their performance against other major hospitals in the state and region. In addition to being one of the lowest cost health systems in the state, they are also taking a leading role in the development of Accountable Care Organizations in Massachusetts and across the nation. By continuing to expand their focus on quality by using an automated management system across the enterprise, their goal is to more effectively achieve their vision and help their communities realize better health, provide better healthcare, and deliver a better value.
"Quality and efficiency are essential in today's healthcare organizations," said Thomas Mann, Mediware's president and chief executive officer. "Readmission rates and other quality related issues will continue to drive payment and reimbursement restrictions for all types of providers.
"This is why having a robust performance management system – such as InSight – is so critical. By automating data collection, and utilizing a standard management platform, hospitals such as Jordan have an efficient, and easy to use technology they can rely on to get up to the minute results, track changes over time, and validate the effectiveness of new improvement initiatives."
About Mediware
Mediware delivers interoperable best-of-breed software systems that improve efficiencies and address safety concerns, enabling healthcare organizations to improve care processes while decreasing costs. Core Mediware solutions include blood management technologies for hospitals and blood centers; cell therapy solutions for cord blood banks, cancer treatment centers and research facilities; medication management solutions for hospitals, behavioral health facilities, infusion and specialty pharmacy providers; and business intelligence-based performance management solutions for clinical, regulatory and financial aspects of the broader healthcare market. For more information about Mediware products and services, visit our website at www.mediware.com.
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About Jordan Hospital
Jordan Hospital is a not-for-profit organization serving 12 towns in Plymouth and Barnstable Counties. Established in 1901, Jordan Hospital is a full-service, 155-bed acute care community hospital accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the College of American Pathologists, the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and the American College of Radiology. For more information, visit www.jordanhospital.org.
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