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Predictive health analytics has just reached a new level; Health technology startup HealthIO has been acquired by consulting and actuarial company Milliman Inc.
Founded in 2016 by the president and CEO Sanjay Mohan, HealthIO has developed a monitoring platform using big data, IoT, and AI to monitor and predict adverse health events as well as the progression of chronic illnesses.
The HealthIO platform collects data from medical devices and compiles it into a health-tracking app. Its purpose is to assist users in managing their health. At the same time, the app allows their doctor to intervene and provide proactive care.
Milliman plans to combine its own predictive health analytics with HealthIO’s preventive health tech, launching as Milliman HealthIO. The new Milliman HealthIO platform will ultimately be available to both value-based providers and self-insured employers.
Milliman thinks the HealthIO platform has compatibility with its own predictive analytics; the company’s goal is to identify people who are high-risk or increasing in risk.
“We’re very excited about acquiring HealthIO,” said Milliman principal, Brian Studebaker. “We recognize the broad potential of HealthIO’s model. We expect steady growth as the word gets around about the dramatic effect preventive health care can have on an organization’s bottom line.”
Stephen White, Milliman President, and CEO commented, “HealthIO is a preventive health monitoring solution allowing Milliman to act on our expertise in risk profiling and categorization of employees and patients, then, over time, tweak that stratification an individual basis. With HealthIO we can put into operation our analytics and AI in a very measurable way, benefitting our clients, their members, and employees, as well as patients.”
“We are very excited to become part of Milliman; the ability to leverage the synergism of their best-in-class data science and actuarial abilities will better deploy and target our preventive health analytics,” Mohan pointed out. “This merger is a perfect match; both value-based providers and employers will benefit from the power of our combined solution to both lower costs as well as improve outcomes.”
Sanjay Mohan has more than 20-years of experience in the insurance and healthcare industry in North America, Europe, and Asia. Mohan is a passionate advocate of business and innovation, initially founding HealthIO to shift the emphasis to proactive healthcare.
The fact is, healthcare organizations are under pressure to coordinate better patient care as well as improve patient care outcomes. To accomplish this, healthcare organizations are turning to predictive health analytics.
Predictive health analytics deals with statistics using data and machine learning algorithms to predict the likely future patient outcome based on past data. Predictive health analytics can be used to identify critical points through the stages of patient intake and care, improving healthcare delivery, and patient experience.
A 2017 study by the Society of Actuaries found that 93% of healthcare organizations said predictive health analytics is vital for the future of their business. Likewise, 89% of healthcare providers currently using predictive health analytics or plan to in the next five years.
The University of California, San Francisco in partnership with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, has used machine learning algorithms to predict outcomes for people with kidney disease. helping to keep people healthy and cut costs.
Lauren Neal, a principal at Booz Allen Hamilton, points out that, “With 20% of the Medicare budget going to treat kidney disease, predictive health analytics can give clinicians more insight into the risks and benefits of treating a patient earlier. The goal is reducing the number of people developing end-stage kidney disease.”
Although the expectation concerning the future of predictive health analytics remains to be seen, many healthcare organizations are already reaping the benefits of predictive health analytics when it comes to patient care.