RHetoric

My Seattle Mariners may not be hitting any home runs (um, yeah — they’re dead last in the league), but respected Chilmark Research analyst John Moore did just with his recent analysis of our client Anvita Health. In  “P4P, Change & Vested Interests,” Moore took a deep look at Anvita Health’s relationship with the Beth Israel Deaconess Physicians Organization (BIDPO), a 1,500-strong organization of doctors affiliated with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Anvita Health’s “blazingly fast” analysis engine  (as described by Moore) works with BIDPO and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, serving as the glue between the two organizations to provide point-of-care clinical decision support and instantaneous pre-authorization approval for all high-tech, high-cost imaging tests. (As an aside, imaging is the single most expensive aspect of healthcare, and will cost an estimated $30 billion — that’s billion with a B — in 2008.)

The three-way partnership is a resounding success and one that could be emulated across the country to address an increasingly hot-button topic in healthcare — to test or not to test? (The New York Times recently looked at this very issue.) Where should the line between necessary imaging and overzealous employment exist? For the 1,500 physicians at BIDPO, Anvita Health helps them make the distinction.

Recently our client, Anvita Health, spoke with David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog. On June 5, 2008, David posted an entry titled, “Entrepreneurs to the rescue of the US health care system.” This posting is an introduction to a larger conversation David will have on his blog about the role entrepreneurs and private industry will have in transforming the US health care system.

Anvita Health was highlighted in the entry as a company that could make a difference in the “key issue” of Quality.

Click here to read the complete blog posting.

Do you remember when, as you researched your first online travel purchase, it dawned on you that the vast amount of information at your fingertips was power? Or the moment you realized the iPod reinvented your relationship with music? Another of these moments is upon us, and it could add several years to your life.

Until now, we had to rely on our doctors to recall all of the latest medical research and guidelines and deftly apply them to our unique personal cases – usually in a seven-minute office visit. It’s simply impossible.

But doctor’s office dynamics are about to change. Google just launched a personal health record service for anyone to use. Go to Google Health and create a simple profile for you or a loved one. Then run the “Drug interactions” assessment offered by our client, Anvita Health. It’s the equivalent of enlisting a king’s army of physicians, specialists, pharmacists and researchers to work furiously and exclusively on your behalf to generate personalized medical recommendations – in the blink of an eye.

This feedback is completely actionable. Use it to be more proactive with your family’s healthcare, or to have more effective conversations with your doctor. It might even save you from a dangerous medical error.

Best of all, it’s free. We hope you can find a few minutes to try it for yourself.