Four Questions Series:

Tim Carey, Director of Data and Performance Analytics, BaneCare Management

For our latest Four Questions Series, we sat down with Tim Carey, director of data and performance analytics at BaneCare Management. BaneCare Management operates 12 skilled nursing facilities throughout Massachusetts, and is a trusted family-owned senior services company that has been a leading provider of rehabilitation, skilled nursing, assisted living and adult day health for nearly six decades. BaneCare is driven to creating an environment built on compassion, dignity, and respect for residents and their extended families, as well as for its community and staff members.

1. Can you tell us about some of the care coordination challenges your organization has faced in the last few years?

   In my world of data and analytics, some of the care coordination challenges that we face are around data integrity. At BaneCare, we work extremely hard to provide accurate data. When we meet with organizations that we work with, there are times where our data on patients’ care events doesn’t match up. For example, we recently met with a hospital and an ACO who both monitor patient events in EHRs. The hospital and ACO saw that one patient was documented as being discharged home with VNA services when that same patient was actually receiving care at one of our facilities. This fragmented data for the hospital and ACO creates various challenges, especially for the clinical staff who are responsible for following patients during their care journeys.

2. How have you overcome these challenges?

   At BaneCare, we are continuously stressing the importance of communication and leveraging PatientPing to accurately monitor where patients are going. With PatientPing,  we can see in real time whenever and wherever patients go to receive care. This has helped us strengthen relationships with other organizations in the community because we can collaborate more closely to reduce readmissions and help get patients to the right care settings at the right time.

   I recently joined The PatientPing User Council, which brings users together with PatientPing’s product development team to discuss users’ workflows and share feedback on new and upcoming features. As a member of the council, I’m able to collaborate and share my ideas with other data-savvy users across the nation on ways we can improve reporting, analytics, and bridge any gaps we’re seeing in care transitions.

3. What insights do you have now that you lacked prior to implementing PatientPing?

   With PatientPing, we’re able to see the “big picture” and follow patients as they move from care setting to care setting. Prior to PatientPing, this was complicated for us. I remember a time a few years ago when I was a business analyst at a local community hospital. I needed to find information on SNF readmission rates, but in order to do so, I had to go through a very long and time consuming process. Now, fast forward a few years, and we have PatientPing to provide this information and pull these analytics for us.

   PatientPing’s reporting also continues to improve, and helps us to standardize our required monthly reporting by telling us admission activity, ALOS and 30-day readmission rates. This helps us to standardize and automate the reporting process between organizations across the continuum.

4. How has PatientPing helped you improve patient care?

   We use PatientPing for process improvement efforts, specifically to monitor patients presenting to a hospital after they’ve been discharged from a SNF. It’s important for us to determine reasons for admissions so that we can improve our discharge planning processes and care for patients in return. At BaneCare, it’s all about continuous improvement, so we are always using data–like the data we receive from PatientPing–to help drive those efforts.

   For example, our facilities receive notifications from PatientPing as soon as a patient presents to a hospital. From there, we’re able to work with that hospital in real time, and direct patients back to SNFs when appropriate. This collaboration helps to not only reduce unnecessary readmissions, but also improves the care provided to patients by getting them to the right care setting at the right time.

   To learn more about how Patient Ping has helped other care facilities across the country improve their patient touchpoints and provide more comprehensive care check out more Four Questions Series articles.

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