NTREC working on new physician data analytic project

The Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation (DFWHC Foundation) operates data analytic capabilities for 95 percent of the hospitals in North Texas. This includes an extensive data warehouse of inpatient claims complete with a proprietary Regional Enterprise Master Patient Index (REMPI). The North Texas Regional Extension Center (NTREC), operating under the DFWHC Foundation, is developing a physician data analytics project to complement the inpatient data analytics program. NTREC services primary care physicians in a 42-county area of northeast Texas.



The pilot phase involves the development of a physician claims database. Analytical tools will then be applied to the data to compare financial and clinical practice parameters — or blinded data — across different physician groups.

Our goal is to expand the program to all physicians served by NTREC, as well as adding other specialty physician groups in the area.

Phase I involves implementation of the Proof of Concept (POC) physician data analytics project in 2014. Phase II includes feedback from participants in preparation for full implementation in 2015.

This program allows us to create the first truly vertical and horizontal data analytics tool that can follow a patient across all areas of care from physician offices to hospitals and back to physician offices. We will also be able to track patients across primary care physicians to specialists and back to primary care physicians.

The data will also allow researchers to identify health disparities and design prevention programs. This will assist in improving the quality of patient care while reducing costs in the physician’s practice.

For more information, please contact me at rhowe@ntrec.org. You can also contact Kristin Jenkins, President, DFWHC Foundation, at kjenkins@DFWHCFoundation.org.