Data Lessons Learned During the Pandemic

“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.” Abraham Lincoln

I have been in healthcare for many years and have seen health systems implement concepts like “Six Sigma” and “Lean” with a desire to improve outcomes and efficiency. Extract Systems has helped many health systems achieve these desired goals. Extract continues to keep our current clients lean, efficient and nimble. During times of COVID this becomes even more important. The landscape of healthcare is changing, and this is NOT the time to retreat but to adapt, to be decisive, to move forward. Extract is here to help our partners accomplish this.

For the past 5 years in healthcare we have been talking about “big data” and the importance of DATA. People say big data is the new oil, but data is raw crude oil unless it is refined and made available quickly. This is exactly what Extract does, we take unstructured data, efficiently move it to where it needs to be (EMR, Registries, Lab Solutions), which allows the data to be used to make decisions.

To me it is very clear what we have learned over the past few months and I will outline below:

• Time lapses in data capture have and will continue to lead to decision-making and without timely and incomplete data insights, it will have profound effects on public health and resource allocation.

• The critical need to seamlessly share COVID testing, case / intake / diagnosis / outcome data has only served to put a glaring spotlight on gaps on how to capture and use this data.

• Staff is stretched, methods for record keeping are ad hoc across testing and treatment facilities [mobile, Telehealth, Ambulatory Care Centers, Freestanding ERs, etc.].

• Turnkey solutions are rare, but exist (Extract), and should be a critical tool during this crisis and in processes returning to the next normal.

• At a more exacerbated rate of fragmentation than in business as usual, urgency in efficiencies and automation provide an opening for innovation and new tools.

• With this fragmentation comes interoperability barriers, transformative solutions (Extract) fill those gaps seamlessly.

• Automated translation, extraction and redaction of EHRs between providers and reporting agencies. These solutions have been onboarded by forward-thinking systems that use Extract Systems.

• Health Systems need data they can utilize immediately to share at the regional, state, country and global level.

• That data needs to be coordinated crisis across health systems, public agencies and research institutions.

We are at a difficult, changing time and the future will surely look different but during these times we should NOT shrink, we should rise and think/seek anew.