In a recent presentation at the HFMA Western Region Symposium, Las Vegas, NV Colleen Reid, CFO of Carson Valley Health, and Les Rescorl, CEO of Sixth Sense Intelligence, shared insights into applying analytics for operational improvements and strategic advancements. This article reviews the key takeaways from their presentation, illuminating the challenges faced, innovative solutions implemented, and the transformative impact on healthcare operations.
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Sixth Sense Intelligence and Carson Valley Health
Les Rescorl, the CEO of Sixth Sense Intelligence, has revolutionized the healthcare landscape with a business intelligence platform designed to find hidden opportunities for enhanced efficiency, performance, and operating margins.
Colleen Reid, Carson Valley Health’s CFO, first implemented Sixth Sense Intelligence’s SMaRT Analytics ™ in May 2023. The operational intelligence platform has provided extremely valuable insights that support the organization’s expansion strategies. Carson Valley and Sixth Sense are close to completing and implementing a cost accounting system that will provide comprehensive costing information for a variety of analytics.
Carson Valley Health’s Expansion and Commitment to Excellence
Located in Gardnerville, Nevada, Carson Valley Health has evolved into a vital healthcare provider, catering to approximately 155,000 individuals. The organization’s recent expansion, spearheaded by Reid, attests to their commitment to excellence. Key highlights of the expansion include:
- Converting their 25 patient beds to private suites
- An emergency room expansion, doubling its existing size
- Significant upgrades to surgical services, including a cardiac catheterization lab
Addressing Challenges and Building Foundations
Ms. Reid also shared the challenges she encountered as CFO during this expansion phase, such as non-standardized statistics, lack of automation, and data governance issues.
The introduction of service-level directors brought about the realization that traditional reporting systems wouldn’t suffice. The solution? An effective financial management strategy supported by the right healthcare analytics platform.
The Role of Sixth Sense Intelligence in Carson Valley Health’s Expansion Efforts
Mr. Rescorl explained the pivotal role Sixth Sense Intelligence played in providing a decision support platform focused on analytics.
Drawing a clear distinction between reports and analytics, he emphasized the transformative power of analytics to extract meaningful insights from diverse data sources and enable informed decision-making. He also stressed the importance of standardized data definitions and automation for consistency and speed.
Carson Valley Health CFO’s Perspective–How Sixth Sense Addresses Challenges
Reid shared her perspective on how Sixth Sense Intelligence’s SMaRT Analytics platform addresses challenges, introducing daily dashboards for real-time insights into revenue centers and budget tracking. The platform empowers efficient managed care contracting, leading to more informed decisions and improved financial outcomes.
An Advanced Starting Point for Cost Accounting
Reid initially planned to start with RCC’s (Ratio of Cost to Charge), which would provide only a general estimate of care delivery cost. However, the collaboration with Sixth Sense Intelligence led to a more advanced starting point for cost accounting. The integration of direct data, including actual costs for supplies and patient costs, offered a richer and more detailed foundation for the cost accounting journey.
Service Level Reports and Visualizations
Rescorl concluded the presentation with a glimpse into the potential of service-level reports and visualizations. The sample visualization demonstrated the power of combining cost accounting data with the right analytics platform to generate insightful and actionable reports at the service line level.
Overcome Challenges and Achieve More with Sixth Sense Intelligence
The Carson Valley Health and Sixth Sense Intelligence collaborative journey showcases a transformative approach to analytics and cost accounting in healthcare, along with a more sophisticated understanding of the healthcare financial landscape.
As healthcare organizations continue to navigate complexities, the integration of advanced analytics and cost accounting emerges as a vital strategy for informed decision-making and sustainable growth. Reid and Rescorl urge healthcare organizations to adopt analytics platforms that facilitate timely and effortless monitoring, ensuring continual, easy access to data.
Is your analytics function an asset or a liability? It’s time to embrace a healthcare operational intelligence platform that uncovers revenue enhancement opportunities and optimizes operational efficiency. Contact us to learn more.
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