This document discusses the role of a Director of Data Support Systems in a healthcare organization. The position oversees financial data systems and ensures their proper operation. They manage other finance staff and produce reports to facilitate decision making from a business perspective. As clinical data and financial data become more integrated, the Director of Data Support helps provide insights that support strategic initiatives and improve patient outcomes through more effective decision making across the healthcare organization.

1. Decision Making
6
Decision Making
Gurbani Virk
HCA312: Health Care Finance
Instructor: Margaret McGannon
Date Submitted: September 14, 2015
Director of Data Support Systems
I chose the position of Director of Data Support Systems,
because this position works with the Chief Information Officer
and has several finance staff members that report to them. This
position makes sure that the financial data systems are
operating. The other officer that is related to the position I
chose is the treasurer, who is responsible for the financial
resources, but they all report directly to the (CFO). The Chief
Account Officers, (CAO), the directors of planning and
budgeting, will also report to the Director of Data Support
Systems, as well as other officers within that team. “For
internal operations, including routine accounting services,
contracting and support of patient financial services,
operational budgeting, and data support, it is reasonable to
expect that qualified managers will have a good understanding
of the data and the skills of finance personnel” (Bull, 1993).

2. On the organizational Chart in most health care organizations
the order of command is (CEO), chief executive officer, the
(CFO) chief financial officer, the (CAO) chief accounting
officer which is on an equal level with the (CFO), but under the
(CAO) are the director of budgeting, the director of planning
and analysis, the director of data support and the treasure.
There is an analyst in each department and a Director of Data
plays a part in all areas of a patient experience, they produce
reports and facilitate a comprehensive overview from a business
aspect which helps decision making that helps support strategic
initiatives.
A (DDSS) develops and direct the clinical support programs
through a planned process for monitoring and evaluating the
quality of health care provided to customers. This position
directs the work of clinical decision support to help with the
compliance and regulatory standards. This position shows
superior leadership and it requires the ability to teach. You have
to be able to work with management personnel, doctors and the
community (Emory 2012).
A lot of data is stored within the health care IT system, at one
time this information was not available to the administer,
clinicians and/or the doctors. Data support has ways of been
revenue focused and centered around finances and their results,
there has been a number of health care organization that have
now moved over to a IT data support structured system overhaul
to have a more integrated financial intelligence, so that there
will be support and more effective decision making on the part
of all the medical staff, this will also help with a better patient
outcome.
I do not work for a health care organization, but I chose a
hospital that is close to me and that I am familiar with,” Emory
Healthcare (EHC) is an integrated academic health care system
committed to providing the best care for our patients, educating
health professionals and leaders for the future, pursuing
discovery research in all of its forms, including basic, clinical,
and population-based research, and serving our community.

3. As the clinical enterprise of the Robert W. Woodruff
Health Sciences Center (WHSC) of Emory University, EHC is
dedicated to the unifying core purpose, core values, and
strategic direction of the WHSC. With few exceptions,
healthcare data is in silos—with clinical data in one place and
financial data in another. Rarely do the two meet; most
organizations keep collections of financial data so far removed
from the clinical data that it’s difficult to understand the
relationship between the two” (Emory 2012). A Director of Data
Support provides financial reports also to the Board of
Directors, they provide data to managers that will help them
look at the over all areas of patient process and patient
experience. They report re-admission rates and patient safety
using unique data sources, we use a system today to updates
data automatically and all the data support team has to do is
analyze and audit the new data.
To fully understand your costs and identify areas of waste, you
need good data support, which is the best method for integrating
and harnessing the potential of all of your data. Data support is
used to push cost improvements and it gives insight needed to
go forward to help reduce waste related to health care cost, to
do this and be successful you have to have a strong effective
group of people to implement the data and to make it work. This
team should consist of doctors, nurses, and business analysts,
their focus should be on reducing the cost of certain items,
decreasing time for testing, etc. Use of proper software, data
support and an effective team, will help develop standardized
metrics that will ensure compliance and tracking improvement.
“Forty percent of healthcare organizations report having
completely eliminated some of their capital projects; 48 percent
of these organizations also report delayed capital projects; and,
only 29 percent have continued with their projects as originally
budgeted, 17 As the economy slowly heads into a recovery
phase, 43 percent of healthcare organizations expect an increase
in their operating income and expenses, and most anticipate that
capital expenses would account for one to ten percent of their

4. organization’s overall budget. Though the state of the economy
and ongoing healthcare reform efforts limit forecasting of long-
term trends in Organizations’ capital spending, it is clear that
technology-focused projects will dominate the short term
spending landscape” (O'Leary, 2011).
As far as capital investment goes, you have to have the right
alternative, in order for the cost of capital to be assessed, the
revenue will need to be analyzed and the funding would have to
be maintained and assessed as well.
Reference
Bull, Jason M. Capital Budgeting in Healthcare Organizations.
1993. Retrieved from:
http://hdl.handle.net/10920/25824
Emory, J. Capital Budgeting in the Healthcare Industry.
November 14th, 2012. Retrieved from:
http://www.businessandhealth.com/capital-budgeting-in-the-
healthcare-industry.html
O'Leary, Keith. Money well spent - Health Facilities
Management. Dec 5, 2011. Retrieved from:
http://www.hfmmagazine.com/display/HFM-news-

5. article.dhtml?.../HF...