Using evidence-based care — redesigning care through developing and consistently using best practices that are based on the best available evidence — is a key strategy Intermountain is using to transform healthcare.

Here’s how best practices work:

1.   THE PROBLEM: When care providers look at any illness or injury, they can choose from a wide range of treatment options. The problem is, how do they know which treatment works best?

2.   THE SOLUTION: Teams of physicians and other care providers use Intermountain’s world-renowned computer system to keep track of the treatments they use and the outcomes that result. They then develop best practice protocols based on the data they collect through this process, as well as through extensive reviews of medical studies.

3.   THE RESULT: Our best practices contain the steps that lead to the best medical outcomes. Caregivers can depart from a protocol if they choose, depending on a patient’s individual needs, and the reason for the departure is documented. No matter what course of treatment they select, outcomes are tracked and analyzed, which leads to a cycle of continual improvement.

Best practices result in better outcomes and lower costs. We’ve demonstrated over many years that higher quality generally costs less, because better medical results tend to result in fewer complications and readmissions. Our best practices help us provide the right care, at the right time, in the right setting, without the variation and waste that reduce quality and increase costs.

For more than two decades, clinical teams in Intermountain’s hospitals and clinics have been developing best practices to show how care for a wide range of conditions should best be delivered. Intermountain has the most vigorous system-wide implementation of a clinical excellence program of any healthcare system in the country. Our teams are using our vast data resources to develop evidence-based best practices rapidly and apply them consistently. Our care processes are designed to keep people well and return them to optimal health as quickly and efficiently as possible when they’re sick or injured. As we focus on the best standards of care, we decrease the risks of unnecessary interventions, improve clinical outcomes, improve access to effective care, and reduce overall costs.

Here are four examples of how Intermountain is redesigning care.

1.  Personalized care and improved care management. Patients at our clinics receive individualized care from their primary care physicians and care managers to help them meet their specific health needs and access care when and where they need it.

In addition, Intermountain has launched two care management pilots to help us better help patients with complicated health problems who use a lot of healthcare resources, who often don’t have the economic or personal support to help them improve their health. These pilots include a Comprehensive Care Clinic in Murray and a Community Care Management service in Ogden and Logan. With these services, caregivers proactively reach out to patients with complex health issues to help meet their healthcare needs and overcome the social or economic challenges (such as a lack of transportation) that make managing their health overwhelming.

2.  Integrated electronic medical record. Intermountain has collaborated with Cerner Corporation to provide an integrated electronic medical record system, revenue cycle, and practice management system, called iCentra, that will strengthen our ability to deliver better care. Having an integrated electronic medical record that includes our own care process models, decision aids, and patient education tools will help us provide better health and better healthcare for sustainable costs. iCentra will replace many clinical and financial information systems Intermountain currently uses.

3.  Teleservices. Video, audio, and other technology will help us connect a provider to a patient or another provider in real time. We’re enhancing our range of Teleservices to give more patients remote access to caregivers.

4.  LiVe Well health promotion and wellness initiative. Intermountain continues to expand our LiVe Well efforts for patients, employees, SelectHealth members, and community residents. We offer many services in our LiVe Well Centers, hospitals, and clinics, as well as services online and with community partners. The purpose: Help people live healthy lifestyles to increase quality of life and reduce the need for healthcare.