Industry-wide Outcome Data Sharing Will Improve the Way Behavioral Care is Delivered and Reduce the Cost of that Care

In our last commentary we reviewed how the need for industry wide, standardized quality metrics becomes evident as management of care delivery organizations seek to optimize the delivery of high quality clinical care while realizing attractive returns for investors. In fact, better clinical care, based on measurable standards, can lead to better health outcomes and better business results.

Is there evidence that industry wide data sharing can enable better clinical, organizational and financial results? Will hyper competitive organizations consider participation, sharing de-identified data with their industry peers?How can the needed standards be created? How can they be implemented across various organizations with different governance, cultures and business models? Can industry wide quality metrics be any more than a pipe dream?

In fact, industry wide data sharing among fierce competitors is an increasingly common practice in many industries (including healthcare) and we can learn from their experiences how the benefits of data sharing platforms accrue to all participants. There are several industries that we think are particularly compelling to review.