12 Sep Humana’s New Digital Health Division Reinforces Power of Data Analytics

A sign that health data analytics has truly become a catalyst for payer success, Humana recently announced the launch of a new data analytics and digital health division, called Humana Studio H.

Heather Cox, a former financial technology executive who will take on the title of Chief Digital Health and Analytics Officer, will head up the division and will be accountable for building Humana’s digital care delivery operations and leading enterprise analytics.

“Digital technology and analytics are building blocks for devising products, tools and services that deliver on the promise of whole-person health care – Heather Cox has the experience, vision and drive to innovate and boldly lead Humana’s efforts in these important areas,” said Humana President and CEO Bruce Broussard, in this recent press release.

This new move reinforces how data analytics is becoming more vital to a payer’s balance sheet. The right management solutions can also help bring all of patient data – structured and unstructured data – together in one place, to provide a more comprehensive picture of an entire population.

In addition, these solutions can help payers to gain more insights that are vital to profitability when revenue is adjusted by the documented risk of a population. Payers can also mine the unstructured portion of the EHR for evidence that a member is either excluded from a measure or is compliant, which often does not appear in claims.

This new development comes on the heels of other organizations like the American Hospital Association (AHA) launching its Center for Health Innovation, and the New Jersey Hospital Association creating a Big Data analytics center.

Leveraging health data for optimal performance and efficiency is paramount in the payer arena. Humana is leading the way with its new Humana Studio H, and will certainly create a template for other payers to follow suit.