Perceptions of standardization and personalization vary widely by healthcare industry role. Advocates of standardized care say it improves efficiency, outcomes, and patient safety. Advocates of personalization, however, don’t want to see a one-size-fits-all approach become the norm. They want to see a healthcare system in which physicians treat patients like unique individuals. But what if standardization and personalization didn’t have to be mutually exclusive? What if these historically competitive approaches to care improvement could work together to improve care? Dr. Corbett describes how health systems can prioritize standardization and personalization using data to bridge the gap. Data enables informed decision making, customized treatment plans, and patient engagement. It supports both standardization and personalization approaches in the ultimate quest for care delivery improvement.

1. Standardized Care vs. Personalization:
Can They Coexist ̶ Dr. Ed Corbett

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Standardized Care vs. Personalization:
Mention the word “standardization”
to a group of healthcare professionals,
and you may start a debate.
While administrators may view
standardized care as a way to achieve
efficiency and high-quality patient
care, physicians have historically
viewed it as an administrative
mandate that goes against their
interests and their patients’ interests.
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Standardized Care vs. Personalization:
This fragmented perception of
standardized care is changing, as
value-based care takes root.
Administrators and physicians
are beginning to realize they
need to work together to improve
care quality and reduce costs.
They should understand how
standardization and personalization
can complement each other.
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The Case for Standardized Care
Standardizing best practices is an important
part of delivering effective, safe, and
affordable care, and has numerous benefits:
Consistent outcomes
Labor savings
Reduced waste
Improved efficiency
Improved patient safety
Reduced costs

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The Case for Personalization
Advocates of personalization don’t want
to see a standardized, one-size-fits-all
approach to treating patients become
the norm.
Patients embrace the idyllic concept of
a local family doctor who knows
everyone in their family, understands
each family member’s health concerns,
and responds to everyone individually.

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The Case for Personalization
Personalization improves the patient experience
and increases patient engagement.
In today’s healthcare environment, in which
patients’ ownership of their health and
outcomes is becoming increasingly essential.
Physicians need to personalize care and
motivate patients to become active
participants in their health journeys.

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Standardized Care and Personalization Working
Together to Improve Quality
Standardized care and personalization are not
mutually exclusive.
In fact, standardization can enhance
personalization by eliminating unnecessary
work for physicians and giving them more time
to spend with patients.
It can also eliminate unnecessary expenses
and complications resulting from not adhering
to best practices.

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Standardized Care and Personalization Working
Together to Improve Quality
Physicians make treatment decisions based on
their unique clinical experiences.
Standardization compensates for variation in
experience and reveals the outcomes specific
treatments have delivered to thousands, if not
millions, of patients.
Standardization supplements physician
experience and reduces guesswork; it is the
foundation upon which physicians and care
teams personalize patient care.

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Standardized Care and Personalization Working
Together to Improve Quality
Patients would rather hear from their
physicians, “I’ve treated 100 people with the
same condition, and these were the
outcomes” than, “this is the first time I’ve
seen this condition; let’s try X, Y, and Z and
see what works.”

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Bridging the Standardization-
Personalization Gap with Data
With data as the common denominator,
healthcare can get to a place where
standardized care and personalization
meet—the best of both worlds.
Standardizing care and measuring
outcomes enable physicians to create
customized treatment plans for patients
that take a variety of factors into account,
such as outcomes for similar patients.

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Healthcare data, combined with the
ability to assess outcomes of similar
patients, gives both physicians and
patients the right tools for informed
discussion and decision-making.
Combining standardized practices with
personalized treatment plans increases
patient engagement by making patients
the focal point of the decision-making
process.
Bridging the Standardization-
Personalization Gap with Data

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Operational efficiency is a top priority at
Cincinnati Children’s, which processes
33,000 inpatients, one million
outpatients, and 31,000 surgical cases.
Dr. Ryckman, Cincinnati Children’s
Senior Vice President of Medical
Operations, and his team used
standardization and daily analytics to
decrease hospital-acquired infections
by over 50% and save $50 million
over two years.
Standardization and Personalized Care at
Cincinnati Children’s

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According to Dr. Ryckman:
The most important thing we can do to
drive down costs in medicine is to
eliminate unnecessary work for providers
and unnecessary expenses from not
following known best practices.”
But standardized care is just part of the
equation at Cincinnati Children’s. Dr.
Ryckman believes standardization is
an individual art, and that personalization
is equally important.
Standardization and Personalized Care at
Cincinnati Children’s

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Dr. Ryckman realized that delivering
great post-operative care to his
transplant patients could be
compromised if he didn’t improve
everything (bed use, availability, nurse
staffing, and teamwork) needed for
greater efficiency and care delivery.
Standardization and Personalized Care at
Cincinnati Children’s

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Health systems—like Cincinnati
Children’s—willing to embrace and
implement both standardized and
personalized care are in a unique
position to revolutionize the way
healthcare is delivered.
Using data to bridge the gaps, health
systems can lay the foundation with
standardization and build a patient-
centric healthcare delivery system
using personalization.
Standardization and Personalized Care at
Cincinnati Children’s

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For more information:
“This book is a fantastic piece of work”
– Robert Lindeman MD, FAAP, Chief Physician Quality Officer

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More about this topic
Link to original article for a more in-depth discussion.
Standardized Care vs. Personalization: Can They Coexist?
Standardizing Labor and Delivery Best Practices to Improve Outcomes
Health Catalyst success story
The Best Way Hospitals Can Engage Physicians, Nurses, and Staff
Dr. Bryan Oshiro – Medical Director
Genomic Medicine: Personalized Care for Just Pennies
Dr. John Haughom – Senior Advisor
Three Ways Doctors Can Use Patient Data to Get Better Results
Dr. John Haughom – Senior Advisor
Quality Data is Essential for Doctors Concerned with Patient Engagement
Dr. Ed Corbett – Medical Officer

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Edward Corbett, M.D. joined Health Catalyst in June 2014 as a medical officer. He earned
his medical degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio where
he also completed his residency in Internal Medicine. He is board certified in Internal
Medicine. He started his career as a physician at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas
specializing in preventive medicine. Prior to joining Health Catalyst he was a physician
partner at Central Utah Clinic, a large multispecialty clinic which was the first Medicare ACO in the
state of Utah. He has a special interest in improving patient care through the better use of technology
and has been actively involved in clinical IT throughout his career.
Other Clinical Quality Improvement Resources
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