Managed Care Companies Should Publish Lessons Learned From Studying Their Own Big Data

In this era of big data, managed care companies have comprehensive data sets from which to extrapolate and report precise and meaningful findings about health services. With pay-for-performance models championed by the Affordable Care Act and pursued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the value and relevance of these data in improving health is likely greater than ever. That is why we agree that managed care companies have an imperative to participate in quality improvement initiatives, conduct rigorous, transparent research with our data, and widely share and disseminate those findings so that others may learn from and build on our experiences. Managed care companies should publish findings on real-word effectiveness in their large beneficiary populations to quantify the benefits to individuals of specific population health initiatives. Valuable Data Data sources are myriad. They include claims from providers along with pharmaceutical and medical device purveyors that yield direct insights into patients’ use of products, services, and levels of care. Managed care companies also collect data from participants using web-based programs or mobile phone applications that motivate healthy behavior. Partnerships with provider groups also generate substantial clinical data from medical records. Companies already routinely use these data sources to assess quality improvement initiatives in an effort to achieve the triple aim of improved health outcomes, better patie...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Diffusion of Innovation Featured Insurance and Coverage Population Health Quality big data health services research managed care companies peer-reviewed studies quality improvement initiatives Source Type: blogs