Modern Healthcare November 2, 2019
The equity of the healthcare industry’s population health management care has been called into question after researchers found that a widely used algorithm sold by Optum dramatically underestimated the health needs of the sickest black patients.
The unexpected results for Optum have put a spotlight on the entire industry, which relies heavily on programs that make predictions on which patients may benefit from additional and more comprehensive care.
Risk-prediction algorithms like Optum’s, which use cost as an indicator to pinpoint high-risk patients, are ubiquitous in the industry, said Cynthia Burghard, a research director in value-based IT transformation strategies at IDC Health Insights, a division of market research firm International Data Corp.
It’s “a really simple tool that any analytics vendor...
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