Data-Driven Management and Technology-Enabled Healthcare: Advancing Hospital Lean Operations

Amid the global backdrop of curbing the rapid rise in healthcare costs, the era of value-based healthcare is dawning. In 2019, marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 10th anniversary of the new healthcare reform, “Healthy China” was elevated to a national strategy, big data emerged as a key strategic resource, and “Internet + Healthcare” was incorporated into multiple healthcare reform policies. Against this temporal and industrial backdrop, the “Global Hospital Lean Operations Forum and the 2nd HIA Big Data International Summit,” themed “Intelligent Transformation” and jointly organized by Neusoft Wanghai and Sinopharm Reeds Exhibitions, was held in Qingdao, Shandong Province on October 20, 2019. Elites from the healthcare and emerging technology sectors across China and around the world gathered to engage in in-depth exchanges and sharing from the perspective of industry development. Focusing on topics such as value-based healthcare and lean operations, DRG-led lean transformation, and data-driven value-based healthcare, the event provided new insights and ideas for the future development of the healthcare industry.

This summit received strong support from leading industry organizations, including the Chinese Society of Health Informatics and Medical Big Data, the Chinese Pharmaceutical Accounting Society, the Chinese Society of Social Insurance, the Institute of Hospital Management at China Medical University, Henan Provincial People’s Hospital, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Yuxi People’s Hospital, Qingdao Haici Medical Group, and Wuhan Children’s Hospital. More than 600 industry professionals attended this prestigious event, including government officials in the healthcare sector; hospital presidents; executives overseeing medical services, operations, information technology, and pharmaceuticals and medical devices; financial and informatics practitioners such as hospital directors and chief accountants; representatives from academic organizations, universities, and research institutions involved in healthcare informatization; as well as international industry experts and opinion leaders.

Themed “Intelligent Transformation,” the conference featured three forums: “Value-Based Healthcare and Lean Operations,” “DRG-Led Lean Transformation,” and “Data-Driven Value-Based Healthcare.” The main forum, “Value-Based Healthcare and Smart Operations,” was moderated by Liu Chang, Director of iShukang for Singapore and Greater China. Distinguished attendees included Jin Xiaotao, former Deputy Director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission and President of the Chinese Society for Health Informatics and Medical Big Data; Du Shuwei, Executive Vice President of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Accounting Society and Vice President of the Finance and Accounting Branch of the Chinese Health Economics Association; William A. Haseltine, Chairman of the Sino-US Health Summit, Professor at Harvard University, and Tenured Professor at the New York Academy of Sciences; Liu Jiren, Chairman and CEO of Neusoft Corporation; and Guo Qiyong, Director of the Institute of Hospital Management at China Medical University and Dean of the Neusoft Wanghai Product and Data Research Institute. These industry leaders engaged in in-depth discussions and knowledge sharing on “Value-Based Healthcare and Lean Operations,” thoroughly analyzing pain points and challenges in hospital management to empower lean operations in modern hospitals.

At the conference, the HIA Data Service Platform was officially launched. Designed around the application scenarios of medical institutions, with decision-making as its objective and data as its core thread, the HIA Medical Big Data Service Platform publishes annual hospital operational analysis reports. It provides industry benchmarking data for hospital leaders, operational managers, and department heads, thereby facilitating lean operations in healthcare institutions. In her opening remarks, Ms. Duan Chenghui, Founder and CEO of Neusoft Wanghai, stated that as China’s healthcare sector undergoes profound transformation, deepening reforms in public hospitals—the primary providers of medical services—have become a crucial guarantee for achieving the “Healthy China” initiative. With the comprehensive implementation of DRG-based payment policies, big data-driven upgrades to lean hospital operations will inevitably become a key strategic direction for hospital development and a foundational safeguard for advancing value-based healthcare. The establishment of Clinical Data Repositories (CDR) and Operational Data Repositories (ODR) will further propel hospitals into a new era characterized by scientifically standardized clinical pathways guided by decision-making, centered on patient- and condition-specific service value, and oriented toward cost management.

The “DRG-Led Lean Transformation” Forum was moderated by Lv Jianshe, Vice President of the China Society of Social Insurance. Distinguished guests in attendance included Zhu Zhaofang, Researcher at the Health Development Research Center of the National Health Commission; Shao Xiaojun, Visiting Researcher at the Health Development Research Center of the National Health Commission and Visiting Professor at Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences; Liu Hong, President of Qingdao Haici Medical Group; and Li Jianjun, Chief Accountant of Henan Provincial People’s Hospital, all of whom delivered insightful speeches. The speakers engaged in in-depth discussions and exchanges with attendees on topics such as “Key Technologies and Informatics for DRG Payment,” “Lessons from Germany’s DRG Development and Exploration of the Chinese Path,” “Practice of Refined Hospital Management Supported by Informatics,” and “Leveraging DRG to Establish a Lean Operational Management System in Hospitals.” Reform of the DRG payment method has become a centerpiece of healthcare reform, with the application of DRG facilitating lean operations and value-based care. Under the new circumstances, domestic hospitals must draw on international experience, keep pace with reforms, upgrade information systems, and establish refined operational management systems to actively respond to DRG reform and ensure sustainable hospital development.

The subsequent forum on “Data-Driven Value-Based Healthcare” was moderated by Liu Dong, Editor-in-Chief of VCBeat. Distinguished speakers included Deng Shaoping, President of Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital; Shao Jianbo, President of Wuhan Children’s Hospital; Holly Rimmasch, Chief Clinical Officer of Health Catalyst, a U.S.-based healthcare big data company; Wu Wenxin, Chief Technology Officer of the Industry Solutions Group at Intel (China) Co., Ltd.; and Su Xiaoqing, President of Pingxiang People’s Hospital in Jiangxi Province. The panelists delivered insightful presentations, engaging in a high-level, integrative dialogue that bridged Eastern and Western perspectives. Their discussions centered on hot topics such as value-based healthcare, big data, artificial intelligence, and smart healthcare, with a focus on the practical application of information technology in the medical industry. As “healthcare with the highest cost-effectiveness,” value-based healthcare represents the future direction of China’s medical sector. At present, the massive generation of medical data urgently necessitates breaking down barriers among various stakeholders to optimize data utilization and establish a high-value healthcare service system.

HIA (Health Information Alliance) is a non-profit academic organization professionally dedicated to the sharing and collaboration of medical health data. Guided by the mission of “Sharing, Innovation, and Development,” the Alliance establishes an academic platform for disseminating cutting-edge technologies and converging elite insights. It explores the essence and applications of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as their future integration with healthcare and management. The Alliance facilitates exchanges on advanced practices and concepts in medical management and shares innovative pathways and models for medical services. Currently, HIA has brought together more than 1,500 large medical institutions across China, serving as the “smart brain” for lean hospital operations.

Jointly exploring development pathways for deepening reform, collaboratively advancing medical innovation in the data era, and collectively unveiling the industrial blueprint for an intelligent healthcare world, this year’s Global Hospital Lean Operations Forum and the 2nd HIA International Big Data Summit closely follow the wave of the new healthcare reform era characterized by “Internet Plus” and big data. By gathering medical elites from home and abroad and disseminating cutting-edge ideas, the event provides new inspiration and insights for the future development of the healthcare industry, while contributing to the advancement of a healthy ecosystem and a high-quality medical and health service environment.

Data-driven management and technology-enabled healthcare: Only by integrating advanced medical management concepts with IT technology can we promote the lean, high-quality, and coordinated development of the healthcare ecosystem. In the future, the Health Information Alliance (HIA) will establish a health and medical data think tank, develop consensus-based industry standards, advance high-level research, cultivate leading talent, and launch public-welfare initiatives that integrate IT technology with healthcare, thereby contributing to the “Healthy China” strategy.