By: Jeff Deal, Program Chair, Predictive Analytics World Healthcare
In anticipation of his upcoming keynote co-presentation at Predictive Analytics World for Healthcare New York, October 23-27, 2016, we asked Ken Yale, JD, DDS, Vice President of Clinical Solutions at ActiveHealth Management, a few questions about 
incorporating predictive analytics into healthcare. Catch a glimpse of his presentation, Predictive Analytics, Genomics, and Precision Medicine – Separating the Hype from the Reality, and see what’s in store at the PAW Healthcare conference in New York City.
Q: In your work with predictive analytics, what area of healthcare are you focused on (i.e., clinical outcomes, insurance, quality improvement, etc.)?
A: We focus on both clinical and financial outcomes for health insurance plans, and in fact are one of the few organizations that have the capability to derive clinical variables from data. As a care management company, we believe putting clinical knowledge and insight in the hands of doctors and patients can transform the healthcare system and improve lives. We do this by finding the latest developments in the clinical literature, translating these research findings into computer algorithms that mine consumer, member, and patient data, and presenting our findings to patients, providers, and payers so they can understand the situation and take action to improve care. Our job, what we do every day, is find people and give them actionable steps to improve their health.
Q: What outcomes do your models predict?
A: Clinical actions, quality metrics, financial costs, and other outcomes of interest to our clients – such as personal interests so we can assist an individual with appropriate care management services and behavior change opportunities.
Q: How does predictive analytics deliver value at your organization? What is one specific way in which it actively drives decisions or impacts operations?
A: One way that predictive analytics delivers value is enabling us to micro-segment a population, identify a “population of one” and deliver targeted services to improve care.
Q: Can you describe a successful result, such as the predictive lift of your model or the ROI of an analytics initiative?
A: In one micro-segmentation program we were able to obtain a 74% lift in response rate when using different methods of communication designed specifically to the individual, and a 99% lift in response rates when using different kinds of messages targeted to personal interests.
Q: What surprising discovery have you unearthed in your data?
A: The actual variables that are predictive of chronic conditions, such as obesity, and how easily these can be measured and used to improve health and care.
Q: What areas of healthcare do you think have seen the greatest advances or ROI from the use of predictive analytics?
A: Care management and outcomes have seen the greatest advances and ROI from the use of predictive analytics. In the future, using precision medicine and genomic sequencing, we believe the ROI shall be even greater as we target care and services to individuals. At that point, “population health” will have evolved to be “personal and prescriptive health,” and we shall no longer need to use “one-size-fits-all” population norms to deliver care.
Q: Sneak preview: Please tell us a take-away that you will provide during your talk at Predictive Analytics World.
A: Personalized and precision medicine cannot wait for the perfect program to be developed; you have to start somewhere, so any improvement in health quality, outcome, or cost is beneficial and will move the field forward. We shall review and discuss specific improvements in health quality, outcomes, and cost reduction.
—————————–
Don't miss Ken’s keynote co-presentation, Predictive Analytics, Genomics, and Precision Medicine – Separating the Hype from the Reality, at PAW Healthcare on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 from 9:10 to 10:05 am. Click here to register for attendance.
By: Jeff Deal, Conference Chair, Predictive Analytics World Healthcare