LVHN Logo

Leaders at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) long struggled to use data and benchmarking to monitor and improve performance. A general lack of trust in previous data systems rendered them ineffective in driving real change. Attitudes shifted after implementing Axiom™ Comparative Analytics and Axiom™ Productivity Reporting two years ago. 

Comparative Analytics empowers LVHN to draw more timely and integrated data systemwide. It pulls data directly from LVHN’s other systems, such as revenue cycle, payroll, electronic medical records, and Axiom™ Budgeting and Axiom™ Financial Planning. Automated reports and dashboards are easily adjusted, with hyperlinks that allow managers to drill into data as needed. Managers trust the data because there is transparency to where the numbers come from, said Kyle Davison, Management Engineering Manager for the nine-hospital system.  

“Before, I had entire hospital units of 600 people that said, ‘We're not going to use those numbers,’” he said. “Now, our benchmarks are making a lot more sense to management … A high level of trust in the data is the No. 1 benefit of Comparative Analytics — people actually want to use it to guide improvements.”  

The benefits so far are significant. LVHN has narrowed routine, biweekly performance reports from six to two, and reduced report preparation from several days to one hour. LVHN uses Comparative Analytics to set operational targets for volume-driven departments and address current labor challenges. Staffing levels are adjusted more accurately as a result, helping LVHN avoid an estimated $4.4 million in costs across its patient care services and network imaging departments.