Gaining insight to manage chronic disease
A joint solution between CVS Health and IBM Watson Health will employ cognitive computing as well as predictive analytics to improve care management services for patients with chronic disease. The offering is designed to enable healthcare practitioners to quickly gain insights from an unprecedented mix of health information sources, according to IBM. They include medical health records, pharmacy and medical claims information, environmental factors and fitness devices to help individuals stay on track with their care and meet health goals. The partnership brings together IBM Watson’s Health Cloud and cognitive computing capabilities with both companies’ expertise in predictive analytics and patient engagement.
The offering will be made available to insurers and other entities serving the employer and health plan market and will focus on:
- helping to predict individuals at risk for declining health who may benefit from proactive, customized engagement programs;
- encouraging patients to adopt safe and healthy behaviors, including adherence to prescribed medicines and healthy lifestyle regimens; and
- suggesting appropriate use of cost-effective primary care and outpatient providers.
Troyen A. Brennan, MD, EVP and chief medical officer for CVS Health, says, “CVS Health and IBM are both committed to improving health and finding ways to engage individuals in their well-being through the use of information and technology. This partnership will enable us to leverage advanced technologies and key health information to develop a tool that can be applied by a variety of healthcare providers such as pharmacists, nurse practitioners at MinuteClinics or connected healthcare providers, and that can help our pharmacy benefit management clients improve member health and manage cost.”
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