St. Anthony Medical Center is Vila Health's main hospital. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it is a 267-bed Level 2 trauma center. Vila Health's recent acquisition of two smaller systems of health (Delaware County Health Care System and Red River Health Care) has led the leadership teams from all three organizations to focus efforts and attention on understanding the health information systems used at all levels of their organizations.

One area of focus that leadership has identified is understanding how data – both internal and external – is used to make decisions. A working group has been created to analyze and assess this particular need.

Email #1

Data Driven Decision Making

From: Evelyn Unger, HIM Transition Team Project Manager

Hello again! I hope your Independence Medical Center site visit went well. I heard good things from your team members – they're very happy with the energy and interest you bring to the group.

This next project is a little different. I need to have you speak with people at St. Anthony Medical Center in Minneapolis to determine how data informs the decision making process there. From what I was told, leadership is not interested in the individual patient decision process, but rather the kinds of decisions that unit managers, department heads, and hospital administrators have to make. The focus should be on all types of available data, both internal and external.

The department heads and other leaders at the hospital are happy to talk to you, so just let me know who I need to follow up with to get some interviews scheduled. I've uploaded some documents to your network folder that I think will help you wrap your head around the task at hand.

Evelyn

Complete a Vila Health interactive simulation in which you will interview health care providers and other professionals at Vila Health's main hospital about their data needs. Then, write an executive summary, 5–6 pages in length, explaining the data needs of the organization and how they can be met.

1. Describe the types of internal data available within a health care system.

2. Describe the types of external data available within a health care system.

3. Propose strategies for accessing and analyzing available data.

4. Summarize the data needs within a health care system.

5. Propose strategies for meeting the data needs of a health care system.

6. Propose communication strategies for disseminating strategic information to end-users.