McKesson experts Jacqueline Mitus, MD, Steve Silverstein, MD and Matthew Zubiller discuss content as a service, a delivery model for actionable content, in the following excerpt of Actionable Content — A Framework for Better Decision-Making:
In the era of reform, and given the focus on quality metrics as the basis for reimbursement, the ability to tie clinical concepts to business processes is ever more important. To maximize the value of clinical guidance, information must be delivered directly into the workflow at all the points of care or into a “transaction” (e.g., authorization, benefit design, network selection) in a context-specific, on-demand basis. This capability remains a significant challenge today, although newer technologies addressing the challenge in innovative ways.
Content as a service is the delivery method designed to provide actionable, rules-based information to any point of care. The rules are housed in a centralized repository and delivered via technologies based on Web services so that they can be deployed seamlessly into diverse healthcare workflows and across stakeholders. This provides the accessibility and ease of use that not only enables better decisions but also leads to shared accountability between payers, providers and members — and ultimately better quality of care.
Utilization management is another discipline ripe for the application of content as a service. This traditionally paper-based, manual and labor-intensive process can be transformed and automated through the use of clinically credible content delivered in a robust Web-enabled rules engine at the point of care. Proposed interventions (e.g., requests for expensive diagnostic tests) are then automatically screened for appropriateness using data embedded in electronic systems, saving millions of dollars in staff time and provider effort and inconvenience, then shared directly with health plans.
To learn more, download the full white paper on Actionable Content: A Framework for Better Decision-Making.
