A COLLABORATION BETWEEN ASCENSION AND GOOGLE PROVIDES ADVANCED DATA MANAGEMENT AND ELEVATES PATIENT CARE
Fulfilling the promise of digital health information
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ince Ascension’s founding in 1999, we have been advancing a Vision that calls for the national health ministry to lead the transformation of healthcare. Not content with merely identifying and following trends, leaders across Ascension have sought out progressive, disruptive innovations and transformational approaches that have the potential to further our Mission, in the tradition of the bold visionaries and innovators who made up Ascension’s historic sponsors. In this tradition, Ascension is working with Google’s Health division, a global innovator in helping organizations get their arms around vast amounts of data to advance the organizations’ missions and better serve their constituencies.
made work easier for just about every other industry. But in healthcare, technology has made many aspects of serving our patients more difficult.
THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT As the information age has accelerated, consumer expectations have changed rapidly, in many cases leaving traditional healthcare systems behind. Those we serve now expect, and increasingly demand, care that is delivered in a cost-efficient, convenient manner and with an exceptional experience. At the same time, the physicians and caregivers who live out our healing Mission every day do it because they are committed to improving care for those we serve and to making individuals and communities healthier. Unfortunately, the technology created to improve our ability to deliver excellent care too often creates barriers in our ability to do just that. Technology developments have
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CONVERTING DATA TO INFORMATION Effectively caring for patients requires not only having the right information at the right time for each patient but also having that information presented in a way that is easily read and understood. This is even more relevant today as healthcare delivery transforms and the amount of patient information increases. The information clinicians need spans the care continuum with increasing complexity and scale. Too often, clinical information is buried in siloed electronic and paper records that are scattered across hospitals, clinics, urgent care centers, pharmacies, physician offices and labs, making it difficult to deliver coordinated and precise care. When the information is finally retrieved, often it is poorly organized, fragmented and challenging for clinicians to effectively use to care for patients. The fact that today’s electronic health record (EHR) systems don’t talk to each other is a major problem that can have serious consequences for patient care and causes caregiver frustration and burnout. Today, too
G O O D DAY A S C E N S I O N / A S C E N S I O N .O R G
