MCG Health Launches Machine Learning Solution to Help Hospital Systems Prioritize Case Workload


MCG Health

MCG Health is the industry leader in evidence-based clinical guidance whose solutions are used by 9 of the largest U.S. health plans and over 2,000 hospitals.

“In a sea of cases that my team has to review at a very rapid pace, the [Indicia for Effective Focus] tool helps them prioritize which cases to review first.” -Lisa Swift, Director of Centralized Utilization Management, Franciscan Alliance

MCG Health, part of the Hearst Health network, announces it has successfully piloted its new machine learning solution, Indicia for Effective Focus, and it is now available for licensing. MCG is partnering with five major hospital systems for continued development and enhancement of this solution: Avera McKennan Hospital, Baptist Health System, Erlanger Health System, Franciscan Alliance, and IU Health.

Indicia for Effective Focus prioritizes utilization management worklists based on the probability of appropriate patient placement, as well as the potential negative financial impact due to untimely decision making. The platform leverages MCG’s extensive clinical evidence base, real-time data from the EHR (electronic health record), and machine learning technology to guide the case prioritization. Crissa Mulkey, Director of Utilization Management at IU Health said, “Indicia for Effective Focus shows an intuitive understanding of UM users, as well as how UM, or utilization review, is performed. It is a refreshing change.”

One benefit of this solution is the ability to identify opportunities earlier in the hospital stay to reduce friction associated with unnecessary denials. This can help relieve cumbersome workflows resulting from incorrect admission orders. Lisa Swift, the Director of Centralized Utilization Management at Franciscan Alliance said, “In a sea of cases that my team has to review at a very rapid pace, the [Indicia for Effective Focus] tool helps them prioritize which cases to review first. This should assist with reducing denials for ‘clinicals sent untimely.’”

To build on the early success of the solution, MCG is offering the first year of licensing at no charge to the first 20 customers who sign a multi-year contract by December 31, 2020. In addition, these selected clients will have an opportunity to join an advisory council on data science solutions led by MCG. The purpose of this council is to guide additional, important features that will be built into the solution as its development continues.

To learn more about Indicia for Effective Focus, interested hospitals can request a demo at https://www.mcg.com/contact-us/schedule-a-demo/ or call (888) 464-4746. MCG recently recorded a webinar on this solution which can be viewed on-demand here.

About MCG Health

MCG, part of the Hearst Health network, helps healthcare organizations implement informed care strategies that proactively and efficiently move people toward health. MCG’s transparent assessment of the latest research and scholarly articles, along with our own data analysis, gives patients, providers, and payers the vetted information they need to feel confident in every care decision, in every moment. For more information visit http://www.mcg.com or follow our Twitter handle at @MCG_Health.

About Hearst Health

The mission of Hearst Health is to help guide the most important care moments by delivering vital information into the hands of everyone who touches a person’s health journey. Each year in the U.S., care guidance from Hearst Health reaches 85 percent of discharged patients, 205 million insured individuals, 103 million home health visits and 3.2 billion dispensed prescriptions. The Hearst Health network includes FDB (First Databank), Zynx Health, MCG, Homecare Homebase and MHK (formerly MedHOK). Hearst also holds a minority interest in the precision medicine and oncology analytics company M2Gen. Follow Hearst Health on Twitter @HearstHealth and LinkedIn @Hearst-Health.

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