Dive Brief:
- The University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center will now begin selling analytics software that the system first developed for its own use.
- The software, which looks at best health outcomes achieved then measures costs and resources used, is intended to help doctors modify their practices to lower costs.
- Though the software was developed for in-house physicians, discussions are already taking place to expand distribution with some potential partners, Robert De Michiei, UPMC chief financial officer, told the Wall Street Journal.
Dive Insight:
According to analysts, UPMC is pulling off a trick few health care institutions could. Judy Hanover, an analyst who covers health care for Framingham, MA-based research and consulting firm IDC Health Insights, told the WSJ that building this kind of cost management system would be difficult for most hospitals, as it requires "holistic visibility of operations," something very few hospitals can boast. In fact, the use of analytics in health care remains relatively immature, FierceHealthIT reports.