Welcome to the inaugural issue of MedAnalytx, the web journal of business analytics and informatics for the health-care practice. Developing and leveraging metrics for more efficient and agile decision making is a relatively new concept for many in the health-care industry, and it is our hope that through the articles presented here, you and your fellow practice leaders will gain a deeper understanding of the potential of business intelligence, as well as how it is being applied—operationally, financially, and culturally—in practices around the country.

Culture is a critical (but sometimes overlooked) concept, when it comes to analytics and informatics for the practice. Health care is increasingly facing the imperative to function as a business, as well as a science and an art; this transition calls to mind the comment of management guru Peter Drucker (1909-2005): Culture eats strategy for breakfast.

Altering your strategy to prepare for a value-based future is not enough. Within each practice, there are subcultures involved in the management of patient flow, the use of staff members’ time, and even front-desk processes. Each of these cultures needs to be altered permanently to work best in a collaborative-care environment.

True business intelligence offers much more than daily, quarterly, and annual metrics for financial performance. The ability to disseminate accurate, real-time scorecard information across a practice’s many operational facets will be critical to facilitating cultural change—and will distinguish the practices that thrive from those that fall by the wayside.

Send comments to: bill.pickart@integratedmp.com