Successfully Extracting Patient Data from an EMR to Send to Press Ganey

Outdated legacy systems were ineffective, inefficient, and inaccurate

Healthcare provider’s business intelligence (BI) group adopted a sleek, updated platform to confidently analyze and transact patient experience survey data.

The client elected to transition from Cerner, their primary health information service, to Epic’s Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system. In total, approximately 800 existing systems, solutions, and interfaces, would need to be consolidated to one. Simultaneously, the client also sought to both streamline and improve the data extraction and file delivery to Press Ganey.

The client’s Business Intelligence (BI) Group was unable to effectively and efficiently review files prior to being sent to Press Ganey due to the limited functionality of the data records. The flat, or fixed-length, files made finding errors challenging and locating simple values a 30-60 minute process.

In addition, the delivery and receiving file formats and structures differed, so a significant amount of time was being expended to locate and compare the data sets for each patient. Too much reliance on backend coding to perform simple queries, such as date range lookups, further delayed processes and created greater room for error. Due to the complexities of the existing system, tasks could only be handled by a limited number of team members familiar with the platform’s nuances.

Chateaux’s Subject Matter Expert (SME) worked with the client’s business and IT teams to ascertain what the legacy systems were producing and transacting.

In assessing the implementation of the new EMR system and its impact on Press Ganey, Chateaux discovered the following key challenges and devised a strategy to address each:

• Data extraction to target file formats would need to be standardized
• Data extracted from the new EMR system would need to be built in a more user-friendly file type that was still able to be sent and used by Press Ganey
• The existing SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) platform would need to be migrated to newer, current versions for data delivery to Press Ganey to continue
• Data extracted from the new EMR’s data warehouses, which function as storage and analytical solutions, would need to be prepared for transactional data delivery systems

After careful analysis, Chateaux’s SME worked collaboratively with the client to provide the following solutions:

• Created a more straightforward transaction process, empowering a greater number of users to be able to quickly address requests with minimal knowledge transfer required
• Updated the data file structure to enhance search functionality, allowing users to easily locate required information, dropping process time by 50% in most cases
• Automated exceptions report process, cutting unnecessary manual effort by 85-90%, saving hundreds of hours of busy work
• Simplified procedural actions, including automating 98% of the standard operating procedure for recreating updated/modified files
• Empowered users of varying technical skill to harness information without backend coding, and in turn eliminating the possibility for errors and vulnerabilities
• Ensured the rate and frequency of all disparate data sets were created and submitted without interruption

While maintaining a seamless, uninterrupted continuation of data transfer between the client and Press Ganey, Chateaux’s Subject Matter Expert (SME) streamlined the process, data, and structures. Chateaux provided a clean, sleek platform with automated processes that enabled the client’s users to access information more efficiently and effectively and gain greater confidence in the accuracy of the data sent to Press Ganey.

The client, New Jersey’s Largest Healthcare Provider, based in Marlton, NJ, provides comprehensive health care services to over 1,500 businesses. They are also a leader in maternal and child health services, delivering nearly 8,000 babies a year. In order to maintain and enhance patient care, the client works with Press Ganey to gain strategic insights, meet regulatory requirements, and earn funding via submission of survey data.