A new healthcare partnership intends to leverage data analytics to conduct proactive outreach and improve member services, especially for those with SDOH.
Alignment Healthcare recently announced a new partnership with Welltok that will allow the health plan to leverage the vendor’s advanced data analytics and consumer base to improve member services and more accurately predict members at risk for disenrollment, according to a recent announcement.
The health plan will use Welltok’s database, which includes information on 275 million individuals and 800 variables, including social determinants of health data like food security, financial stability, and job status.
“While we thrive on our personal connections with our members, we recognize that there is a host of information outside of the healthcare system that we could be leveraging to better serve them,” John Kao, CEO of Alignment Healthcare, stated in the announcement. “By tapping Welltok’s robust set of consumer data points and predictive models, we hope to understand our members at a deeper level and engage better with them.”
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The partnership is part of Alignment Healthcare’s goal of shifting the focus from payments to individuals, and will support the plan’s ambitious growth goal. Specifically, the plan expects to double its geographic footprint by 2020, which requires keeping member satisfaction high.
According to the announcement, Welltok’s database will supplement information that Alignment already has, including claims, eligibility, and encounter data. The company’s insights will more accurately reveal member pain points and their preferred method of engagement, Alignment explained.
The vendor’s use of machine learning and other advanced data analytics tools will also help the plan uncover member risks and needs.
“To gain better insight into the addressable needs of their populations, Alignment wanted a more holistic view,” Rob Scavo, president and chief operating officer of Welltok, explained in the announcement. “We are proud to be supporting such an innovative and vibrant health plan, and continue growing together with values and goals.”
Addressing SDOH is key to treating the whole member. Sixty-eight percent of patients have experienced at least one of the SDOH, and many are choosing not to talk to their doctors about it, according to a recent report from Waystar. Specifically, 60 percent of respondents said they have never talked to their providers about their SDOH burden, while only 22 percent said they have made it a point to express their concerns with their providers.
The importance of communicating SDOH with healthcare providers is extremely important, as these patients are 20 times more likely than those without risk to miss a medical appointment and not receive the care they need, which significantly impacts a health plan’s cost and quality goals.
By leveraging more consumer data, Alignment intends to better address the SDOH burden while also creating a more personalized experience for members.
Source: Hit Infrastructure