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Information technology enters the doctor's office: Part I--Six design and implementation lessons
P Frankel1, R Chernow, W Rosenberg
1Managed Care Services Group, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Westport, CT.
Physician Executive
|August 6, 1993
Summary
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company implemented an Ambulatory Utilization Review (AUR) program to manage rising ambulatory care costs. This article details the initial "how-to" lessons learned from implementing this cost-control technology.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Health Economics
- Insurance Policy
Background:
- Rising healthcare costs in ambulatory settings prompted action.
- Increased cost escalation outside traditional hospital care was observed.
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Company sought to address these trends.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an overview of lessons learned from the Ambulatory Utilization Review (AUR) program.
- To detail the initial implementation challenges and "how-to" aspects of the AUR program.
- To lay the groundwork for discussing program results in a subsequent article.
Main Methods:
- The article focuses on the "how-to" of implementing the AUR program.
- It describes the initial learning curve associated with the technology.
- Lessons learned are categorized for clarity.
Main Results:
- Understanding the "how-to" of the AUR technology was a primary learning outcome.
- The implementation involved overcoming "deceptively difficult" technological challenges.
- This article covers the foundational knowledge gained during program setup.
Conclusions:
- The initial phase of the AUR program focused on mastering the operational "how-to".
- Successful implementation required understanding and navigating complex technology.
- Further insights into program outcomes are presented in Part II.