SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Radiation oncology experts from Sarah Cannon, the global cancer institute of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), recently reported that InSightive analytics software from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) can be used to identify and track key healthcare metrics for better patient care. In a pilot study presentation here last week, they highlighted the value of using InSightive to identify leading indicators that can be used to improve care delivery for cancer patients receiving radiation oncology services.*

Speakers from Sarah Cannon detailed their findings before an audience of some 800 radiation oncology professionals at a Varian User's Meeting that was held just prior to the 2015 annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

"The use of InSightive analytics has supported our capabilities to more rapidly access comprehensive data captured during radiation oncology operations to inform clinical and operational best practices," said Andrew Kennedy, MD, physician in chief, Radiation Oncology for Sarah Cannon. "Identifying leading indicators for performance improvement is essential to providing the highest quality care to cancer patients, and we look forward to expanding our use of real-time analytics to enhance patient experiences and outcomes long-term."
Sarah Canon is consolidating clinical and administrative metrics using Varian's ARIA® oncology information system in pilot markets, in order to be able to measure quality, outcomes, and operational performance across business lines from one single platform. "A standardized OIS platform is the foundation for removing variation and improving efficiency," said Kennedy.

InSightive analytics enables ARIA users to quickly access, organize and analyze data that was captured during clinical and administrative operations. With a vision of aligning operations across its more than 45 radiation oncology sites, Sarah Cannon aims to use the real-time analytics to inform best practices across its network.

Sarah Cannon has developed enterprise-level dashboards and reports that mine the ARIA database to show quality, outcomes, and operational metrics such as daily treatments across technologies, patient consultations, referral trends, retention statistics, toxicity trends, and treatment patterns, creating a comprehensive report for opportunities to improve care and outcomes.

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