Improving patient care with data and analytics

Treatment uniformity is key to deliver quality care. Yet, it remains one of the biggest challenges faced by healthcare providers. Narrowing the gap between guidelines and practice is difficult. Basing treatment decisions on data can lead to more personal and effective treatment programs while facilitating objectivity among healthcare practitioners.

Reducing cardiovascular morbidity with treatment uniformity

To achieve better treatment uniformity, a Dutch hospital wanted to discover how computerized decision support systems can help physicians assess cardiovascular disease risk and recommend treatment based on guidelines and individual patient data. Their ultimate goal was to improve the quality of care and reduce excessive cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

A decision support dashboard

ORTEC developed a real-time clinical decision support dashboard that incorporates information about patients’ cardiovascular risk and guideline-based advice to help physicians choose a treatment strategy. The dashboard combines relevant data sources, relies on trusted prediction methods and is integrated with electronic health records. We stimulated adoption among physicians by involving them in the design of the dashboard early on. This approach also helped us improve the application’s user experience in an iterative way.

The project was divided in distinct steps. This allowed the medical center to enhance their data science capabilities and prepare for the independent management of similar projects in the future.

Uniform care prevents excessive cardiovascular morbidity

With the help of a computerized decision support system, the medical center can offer more uniform treatments. Physicians adhere to cardiovascular risk management guidelines more closely, while giving personal and substantiated advice to patients. This increased compliance with cardiovascular risk management guidelines enables them to prevent excessive cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.