A year ago, Sentara Health rebranded itself and launched One Sentara, an initiative to better unite its healthcare and health plan businesses to deliver a more cohesive customer experience.
Technology plays a pivotal role. Sentara’s IT team has migrated most data center workloads to Microsoft Azure and is integrating disparate patient care and health plan data into an enterprise data platform (EDP) that provides the organization a 360-degree view of customers.
That allows the Hampton Roads, Va.-based health system to personalize customer service in its call center and deploy predictive analytics to support early intervention strategies. It is also working to streamline (and, in some cases, automate) the prior-authorization process, which will speed delivery of care and reduce costs, says Sentara Health CIO Tim Skeen.
“Our vision is to serve as the tech engine for a healthier tomorrow and drive sustainable growth” through innovative technology and a focus on customers, he says.
“We want to serve the community in the most cost-effective way to make it sustainable and affordable,” Skeen adds. “We want to make it seamless and secure, and optimize our scarce labor resources to make sure they have the biggest impact and benefit to our customers.”