Nearly half of healthcare organizations responding to a new survey say they  are experiencing a positive return on investment in data analytics and reporting  technology.

The survey, by TCS Healthcare Technologies in conjunction with the Case  Management Society of America and the American Board of Quality Assurance and  Utilization Review Physicians, found the landscape changing quickly from similar  measures taken in 2008 and 2010.

Forty-six percent reported positive ROI, compared with 14 percent who  reported a negative return, according to an announcement

Thirty percent of respondents reported stratifying healthcare information to  promote population-based screening, or to identify candidates for case  management. Meanwhile, just 25 percent reported using predictive modeling  applications, while 35 percent reported doing so two years ago.

Excel (39 percent), Crystal Reports (20 percent) and Access (17 percent)  remain the most widely used applications.

Users cited the importance of dashboard and visualization capabilities,  naming among their priorities the ability to manipulate reports and data  presented and to view trends for individual patients and for large sets of  data.

Applications for population health management that integrate claims and  clinical data are key to the success of accountable care organizations, an IDC Health  Insights report found recently, saying many organizations have found that  relying on EHR information alone isn’t enough.

While tools that help organizations with case management have been  touted for their ability to improve care, as New Jersey-based primary-care  practice Vanguard Medical Group experienced, it’s not all about the technology.  A Kaiser Permanente study found readmission-prediction software wasn’t accurate enough for  it to replace manual review of cases.

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