So I have been tasked now for about a year and half now to support my employers initiative to reduce the number of inpatients who return to our facility for a related reason that could have been treated on a previous visit. My role in this whole process is to provide analysis support to determine 1) How many patients do return within a set period 2) are their second admissions related to their first and 3) what ancillary circumstances can we identify that might have contributed to this.
I pulled together a set of data last year in a real down and dirty fashion that allowed the staff to have an idea of who was coming back and why. However my small amount of BI experience left me with a touchy and barely sustainable SQL Analysis Cube.
In my quest to improve upon this design I've begun working on a new method of doing this, but I was shocked to find that after a whole afternoon of Google searching I found a total of ZERO examples of what other places are doing. I know this is a hot topic here in the US as several Payers are considering not paying for these readmissions in the near future and with healthcare being so much more open to sharing business practices than other businesses here I am just amazed that someone hasn't posted something yet about how they managed to solve this same problem.
So I thought after all that I'd make a post about this. I haven't yet come up with something I consider sustainable, but I am actively working on it. I figure if fortune shines upon me (and maybe you the reader) though something like this I can meet up with other DBA, DWA or BI types and maybe collaborate on something that meets multiple needs. So if you are the type interested in that respond to this post and I hope we can work together sometime to realize this project.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Designing a Data Model to Analyze Hospital Readmissions
Thursday, April 08, 2010
A Paper Train Part 2
So in case you missed it I built a paper Acella a while back, and today while I was looking around the web I found another very cool paper train paper. a paper GG1 over at a place called Creative Park. Below is a picture of theirs. Once I put one together I'll take pictures and put them up here. In the meantime why don't you head on over and make one yourself.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Toy Trains and Nuclear Fusion
In a really neat way some researches have found a great way to use a normal everyday item for a lot of us in a whole new way. The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory used a model train engine with some californium-252 on it to test their neutron sensors in their fusion reactor. Being a train enthusiast who has a Bachelors in Applies Physics I find this doubly interesting.
Check out the full artical at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/science/29train.html?_r=3&ref=science.
Friday, January 01, 2010
West Forge Layout: Operations!
First off Happy New Year everyone! I hope that everyone has a great holiday weekend.