SUD providers across Kentucky have deep knowledge of their patients and firsthand insight into what recovery looks like day to day. But once a patient leaves treatment, visibility into what happens next becomes incredibly limited. Much of the broader healthcare data related to emergency department visits, readmissions, and follow-up care exists outside of treatment facilities. Without a window into healthcare claims or other feedback loops, it can be difficult for providers to assess their performance and see long-term trends across their population.
As Wayspring continued to partner with providers across the state of Kentucky, helping clinicians gain actionable insights into population-level data became a priority for our team. We set the goal of making meaningful metrics readily available to providers in order to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement, as well as equipping them to effectively respond to shifting expectations from health plans.
“When we first started sharing this data with providers through our new platform, we quickly realized how big a need this really serves,” said Julia Mullins, Wayspring’s Market Partnership and Outcomes Manager for Kentucky. “There was a missing link in the chain that was preventing providers from measuring long-term success and improving their patient outcomes. It wasn’t just about sharing information, but also about gaining clarity into their populations.”
The Wayspring platform provides trend data for areas such as SUD readmission rate within 90 days post discharge; ED visit rates within 30 days of discharge; and outpatient follow up, including MOUD access and continued treatment. Available data also includes rate of short stays, as well as insight on patient acuity. For all metrics, providers can see their specific data, as well as how they compare with other providers across the state.
“One of the really powerful things is that providers can benchmark their performance compared to their peers, and also compare the specific needs of their patients compared to state averages,” Mullins said. With regards to patient acuity, providers can see what types of SUD diagnoses are most common for individuals they serve, as well as data on other physical health comorbidities (i.e. renal disease, cardiovascular disease), and serious mental illness diagnoses. These insights help guide their overall strategy for treating their population.
As we continue to innovate, the types of data we report on continues to expand. Most recently, Wayspring engineered the ability to consistently share performance data related to HEDIS measures, both at the individual provider level, as well as statewide benchmarks. These metrics will soon be available to all providers who use our platform. Below are the specific HEDIS measures we will include:
- Follow-up After Emergency Visit for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (FUA)
- Follow-Up After High Intensity Care for Substance Use Disorder (FUI)
- Follow-up After Hospitalization for Mental Illness (FUH)
- Adults’ Access to Preventive/Ambulatory Health Services (AAP)
- Social Need Screening and Intervention (SNS-E)
- Pharmacotherapy for Opioid Use Disorder (POD)
- Initiation and Engagement of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse or Dependence Treatment (IET)