Owning the Future of Healthcare: A Strong Data Foundation Powers Product Development

Healthcare data is a valuable asset, but its collection, aggregation, and analysis are neither easy or simple. However, it’s the foundation for products that companies like Health Catalyst develop. Discussing the product and data perspective, the company’s first Chief Product Officer, Anne Marie Bickford, spoke with Owning the Future of Healthcare host Courtney Anne Echerd.

Bickmore began by talking about her journey. “I didn’t think graduating from nursing school, I’d have this position, but I’m glad to be blazing this trail.”

Bickmore’s background as a nurse prepared her very well for her current role. “A clinical background and one as an ED nurse helps me to pivot and look at what’s needed right now. It’s a way to triage.”

In discussing how she looks at data, Bickmore noted that the company’s products must be grounded in high-quality data. “The products sit on top of that, so the data analytics must be strong.”

Bickmore spoke about the challenges the healthcare industry faces. “We’ve been slower than others on standardizing, using, and getting the most value out of it. We have to combine sources then care and feed these data assets.”

Healthcare is now reaching a point where there’s better coordination of all these sources from claims, billing, and clinical. By doing this, many wonder if it’s good for the patient. Bickmore answered, “Yes, it is. We’re a patient-centric company that wants to empower organizations to cultivate data for the best outcomes. While these are operational applications, it’s still patient-centric because it keeps doors open, and patients have access to healthcare.”

What Bickmore noted is that the drive for better data shouldn’t be on the providers. “We need to use modern tools to make data more consumable. The tools need to change because it’s burning providers out.”