At Phrase Health, we’re committed to helping healthcare organizations unlock the full potential of clinical informatics. Recently, we hosted a roundtable discussion titled “The Value of Clinical Informatics”, bringing together informaticists and stakeholders from diverse healthcare settings. This roundtable was not just a forum for discussion but an opportunity to review insightful survey data from professionals in the field. The participants highlighted the challenges, opportunities, and evolving role of clinical informatics in modern healthcare systems.
Survey Findings: A Snapshot of the Challenges in Clinical Informatics
Before the roundtable, we anonymously gathered input from dozens of professionals through a comprehensive survey. Respondents voiced concerns that continue to shape the clinical informatics landscape:
- Resource Advocacy: Informaticists struggle to financially justify their roles, as the value of their work isn’t easily translated into billable services. Despite being integral to improving clinical workflows, informatics efforts often remain “behind the scenes.”
- Manual Demonstrations of Value: Without easily measurable financial reimbursement for clinical informatics work, professionals are left to manually demonstrate their value through stories and direct advocacy with hospital leadership.
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration: The survey also revealed a growing need for improved collaboration between informaticists and other clinical stakeholders, particularly in developing and refining clinical decision support (CDS) tools.
Key Discussions from the Roundtable
The roundtable session, attended by approximately 20 professionals across diverse health systems, provided a deeper dive into the survey findings. Here are some of the major themes discussed:
- The Value Proposition Dilemma
Several participants shared personal stories highlighting the difficulty in communicating the importance of informatics to decision-makers. One recurring theme was that the lack of a billable structure for informatics efforts places the onus on professionals to continually advocate for their roles within healthcare organizations.
- Building Cross-Departmental Collaboration
Attendees noted that, to elevate the visibility and impact of clinical informatics, it is crucial to work closely with clinicians, quality teams, and administrative leaders. The participants emphasized that clinical informatics plays a critical role in reducing clinician burden, improving patient safety, and streamlining healthcare processes, but these contributions are often undervalued when isolated from other departments.
- Manual vs. Automated Value Metrics
A key discussion point was the reliance on manual efforts to prove informatics’ worth. Many attendees expressed a desire for more automated metrics and tools that could better quantify the impact of CDS, alerting systems, and order sets. This aligned well with the mission and vision of Phrase Health, as the platform is constantly improving insights into the effectiveness of these tools, helping organizations track and demonstrate their value without resorting to cumbersome manual processes.
What This Means for Phrase Health Customers
At Phrase Health, we understand the unique challenges faced by clinical informaticists and their colleagues. Our platform is designed to provide actionable insights and metrics that speak the language of health system leadership and decision-makers. By leveraging our tools, healthcare organizations can:
- More easily track and quantify the effectiveness of clinical decision support interventions.
- Improve communication between clinical informatics, quality, and safety departments.
- Reduce the need for manual efforts to demonstrate value, providing clear, data-driven evidence of the impact on clinical outcomes.
The roundtable served as a valuable opportunity to hear from those at the forefront of clinical informatics and reinforced the importance of what we do at Phrase Health. We’re here to support informaticists in demonstrating their value and driving meaningful change in healthcare.