November saw the acquisition of yet another HIE vendor by a payer (Humana). An in-depth analysis of this acquisition and its implications was provided to Chilmark Advisory Service (CAS) clients at the end of November. Following are abstracts of the three research notes in our latest Monthly Update.
Humana Leaps Into the HIE Market
The health insurance industry is undergoing massive upheaval. Payers don’t need a crystal ball to see that in the near future, providers will sell services directly to employers, and that insurers need to get creative in order to stay competitive. With its acquisition of HIE vendor, Certify Data Systems, Humana joined two other payers in the HIE market: Aetna and UnitedHealth Group. Yet Humana’s strategy sets it apart from the other payers. On a single day in November, Humana announced not one but three acquisitions: Certify plus two Florida-based managed care service organizations. Humana has clearly articulated its plan to become the preferred Integrated Delivery Provider to Medicare Advantage members and dual eligibles. By adding Certify’s strong HIE capabilities to its bag of tricks, along with the ability to deliver primary care directly to a large Medicare population, Humana has positioned itself to do just that.
Taking Population Health from Claims to Clinical
As you know from past updates, the burgeoning field of healthcare analytics is a top priority here at Chilmark Research. This month, we take a look at population health management and current efforts to adapt existing claims-based risk management to clinical settings. Population health and risk management have long been the purview of health insurers and public health departments. Yet as providers take on more risk, they will need to identify populations and sub-populations that could benefit from preventive health – and ultimately cost less in healthcare services. THis research note takes a look at some of the traditional, claims-based analytics vendors and their intentions to move into analysis of real-time clinical data sets.
From Med Lists to Meds Reconciliation to Meds Adherence
Ask any home-care provider, and you’ll hear stories of medicine cabinets chock full of old, unused medications. Chronic disease and frequent hospitalizations compound the problem, because patients end up with medications from before and after each hospital stay. It’s no wonder that medication maladherence is recognized as the most important driver of preventable readmissions. But understanding the problem is much different than finding a solution. Chilmark Research reports on the current fractured state of medication adherence, and argues that without deep provider engagement and interoperability across systems, true medication adherence programs will remain a pipe dream.
Each month, subscribers to the Chilmark Advisory Service (CAS) receive an update of our research on the most transformative trends in the healthcare IT sector. Exclusive to CAS subscribers, monthly updates are part of the continuous feed of information and analysis we generate to keep subscribers on top of the rapid-fire changes in this market.
