Our Approach

WhiteCloud Analytics provides deep and proven expertise in the design, implementation, and development of analytic solutions for healthcare systems. What distinguishes us from other vendors is our unique approach that goes well beyond “does the solution technically work?” to “did the solution actually help improve outcomes?” WhiteCloud solutions and services are developed based on the WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ methodology.This methodology helps bridge the information gaps between the massive amounts of data organizations collect and the performance they desire. WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ is the only methodology that delivers scientifically-modeled solutions. These solutions deliver results that go well beyond traditional approaches in two ways: first, we can actually reduce the amount of information decision makers need to deal with to make high-quality decisions; and, second, our solutions are specifically designed to motivate behavior changes that lead to improved organizational performance and outcomes.

Overview of the WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ Approach

How WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ Works

WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ works by combining scientific methodologies from the fields of behavioral economics and systems theory with modern analytic technologies to process and extract insights from large volumes of data. WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ builds on the data assets and investments you have today, including a data warehouse and/or EMR system, and does not require you to discard your existing infrastructure. Regardless of whether you have a data warehouse in place, or your data warehouse contains only part of your organization’s data, we can help you implement a solution that delivers results quickly. And we can help you build a reusable and sustainable infrastructure that delivers outstanding value to your organization, both now and well into the future.

The Stepwise Approach

The WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ methodology uses three phases to implement solutions that drive performance and deliver better clinical, operational and financial outcomes. Unlike traditional data-focused approaches, this methodology is about improving system-wide decision making and motivating changes in behaviors to improve performance.

Phase 1 – WhiteCloud Outcome Maps™

WhiteCloud Outcome Maps™ facilitate the development of an analytic model that links decision making behaviors to desired performance outcomes. With a completed WhiteCloud Outcome Map™ in hand, the process of transforming your organization’s raw information into meaningful insights can begin. In turn, these insights can help motivate behavior changes and begin to drive high performance – within a continual improvement framework.

Phase 2 – Analytic Modeling

After the desired outcomes are mapped to behaviors and decisions, the next phase employs a series of analytic methodologies and technologies to transform your organization’s near-raw data into meaningful information that informs the decisions that drive performance. WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ extends traditional analytic technologies and applies them to transform your data, employing the most appropriate metrics and analytic techniques to best support understanding the data and to promote faster, more effective decision making - with the ultimate goal of reducing complexity and driving better outcomes.

Key to this step - and one of the main values of WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™- is creation of what we call the “Reference Model.” The Reference Model holds the key metrics and reference data that allows the application to show decision makers their actual results compared to what their results should be. These comparables create the tension necessary to truly change behaviors and improve performance – top performers are motivated to continue improving and low performers are motivated to modify their behaviors to start moving up the list.

Phase 3 –Information Delivery Strategy

After we understand what behaviors drive performance, how to change those behaviors, and have designed the analytic processes that transform data feeds into meaningful information, the process shifts to implementing an information delivery strategy to provide the right information to the right decision maker, at the right time, in a manner he or she can understand.

This phase employs visual engineering practices, data layering and navigation strategies, and leverages popular technologies such as dashboards and scorecards that incorporate the nature and habits of the decision makers involved. Unlike many typical dashboards, WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ dashboards include metrics rich in context and meaning, with built-in point-and-click root cause analysis (with guidance) to help decision makers gain deeper understanding without calling an analyst.

Incrementally Build Value

The WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ methodology works because we understand that decision making is a human process, and we use modern technologies to simplify the process of making informed decisions. This helps focus decision makers on crucial issues, not just urgent or immediate ones. In addition, we are focused on delivering value quickly by helping you determine the most critical and valuable initiatives and developing a prioritized roadmap for improvements. Using a spiral methodology for application development, WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ solutions can be quickly deployed and the underlying data infrastructure can be built with a “just in time, one piece at a time” approach. This results in quick wins for your team while simultaneously building a repeatable, reusable infrastructure for building future applications.

Get Started Today!

Whether you have a data warehouse in place, only a partial data warehouse strategy, or no such data repository today, you can effectively improve performance with WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™. We use an outcomes-focused, stepwise and iterative approach, so you are not required to “bet the farm” to get started. You can fund efforts in a step-by-step, “prove and move” fashion. Our applications typically have a demonstrable and sustainable, yet short, ROI payback period. Relative to other approaches to decision support, WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ not only scales with your data and users needs, but it is one of the least risky options available today.

Contact us today for additional information about how WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™ can help your healthcare system improve decision making, focus performance improvement efforts on key issues and improve clinical, operational and financial outcomes.

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OnDemand Webcast:

"Profitable Decision Support: How St. Luke's is Leveraging Data to Drive System Performance"

Hospital CIOs, COOs, and other decision makers will learn about decision support solutions that eliminate waste and identify strategic performance improvement opportunities in order to drive superior operational, financial and clinical outcomes.

White Paper:

Foundations for Effective Healthcare Performance Management
Successfully managing a healthcare system has never been more challenging. Read this white paper to learn how the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) successfully implemented a performance management solution that has been hailed as a model for healthcare reform. The WhiteCloud team is proud to have contributed to this initiative that has enabled the VHA to provide world-class care with patient satisfaction outranking that in the private sector.

Featured Webcast:
"Improving Outcomes: Using Hospital Operational Dashboards"
Learn how your hospital can benefit from operational dashboards that will help you monitor and analyze your critical metrics.

Meet Us At An Upcoming Event:
Meet the WhiteCloud Analytics team face-to-face at upcoming conferences, register to attend one of our educational webcasts or watch a recorded webcast at your convenience.

WhiteCloud Performance Analytics™:
You Can’t Fix What You Can’t See
Learn more about the WhiteCloud approach to improving clinical, operational and financial outcomes using analytics that bridge the gap between the massive amounts of data organizations collect and the performance they desire.