Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) Health System, a non-profit academic health system based in Northern New England, is working with analytics solutions from SAP SE to predict surgical outcomes for patients with chronic knee pain. The initiative named GreenCare aims to improve patient care and to help avoid unnecessary surgeries.
GreenCare combines real-time data analytics with patient-focused, science-based surveys to give patients the best outcomes, a statement issued by SAP said.
D-H Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Michael B Sparks says SAP is helping physicians working under Greencare to work hand-in-hand with patients to meet their health goals in the most productive and successful way.
“Almost every physician has certain health information they need,” said Dr Sohail K Mirza, chair of Orthopedics at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. “Rarely is that information processed and fed back to the patient. Through measurements and very specific data analysis, we’re working with SAP to build it into our care process and make it part of our everyday practice.”
GreenCare provides real-time data and enables D-H physicians to take patients’ goals into account as they evaluate the benefits and possible outcome of surgery, the SAP statement said.
Bob Radler, 57, a D-H patient who was an avid skier, said of Greencare: “With the previous surgeon I had been dealing with, there was very little discussion about knee replacement surgery. He essentially said I was too young. But when I came to Dartmouth-Hitchcock, there was no judgment. It was very much a conversation about the quality of life I had lost.”
D-H physicians have successfully replaced Radler’s knees, and he has returned to skiing without pain.
“The analysis of data adds to the patient’s ability to make an informed decision,” Dr Sparks says. “Prior to anyone getting to surgery, we want to try to predict how the patient is going to do. This particular patient wanted to get back to an active lifestyle with his family, and we were able to help him do that with GreenCare.”
“Through our partnership with D-H, GreenCare is putting critical data in the hands of physicians and patients to make more informed decisions around patient care and surgeries,” said Steve Lucas, president of Platform Solutions, SAP. “We are thrilled that SAP HANA technology is playing a role in improving outcomes in patient care and helping advance the healthcare industry as a whole.”
