Analytics

Pathologists at a dozen hospitals in the state are part of a pilot project -- the first of its kind in the United States -- in which they are reporting cancer diagnoses in close to real-time to the California Cancer Registry. And they are using standardized electronic forms to make their reporting more consistent and accurate.

TIna Esposito of Advocate Health Care emphasizes the importance of aligning analytics strategies with overall business objectives.

CMS said the initiative is part of a broader effort to improve care and spend money more wisely by making use of available data.

Katrina Miller and Esther Lee of L.A. Care Health Plan discuss the challenges of managing the data from different population sets and the importance of top level support in getting big data initiatives off the ground.

The new brand offers a single enterprise solution that include analytics, consulting, health information management and revenue cycle management.

The new platform claims to offer a complete physician workflow and analytics tool that helps providers track the data that's so important for succeeding in value-based reimbursement.

So far, their partnership includes four Sutter Health hospitals and two Alameda Health System hospitals. Since the program began on March 31, Alta Bates and Highland Hospitals have learned that they shared more than 2,000 patients, and over a third of them made six or more ER visits in the past year.

IBM Watson Health has formed a medical imaging collaborative with more than 15 leading healthcare organizations. The goal: To take on some of the most deadly diseases.

In 2013, aggregate hospital costs for 35.6 million hospital stays totaled more than $381 billion.

58 practices in 39 states and the District of Columbia have joined CancerLinQ, the American Society of Clinical Oncology's big data initiative, which seeks to improve the quality of care for people with cancer.