INDIANAPOLIS & PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Anthem, Inc. and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania have announced a collaboration to study and pilot new ideas with the aim of improving health care quality, accessibility and affordability for consumers.
Together, Anthem and its outcomes-research subsidiary, HealthCore Inc., the Wharton School and the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics will explore a variety of topics, such as health care quality, patient safety, payment reform, consumer engagement, real-word evidence and organizational transformation in an effort to translate research into solutions.
“The collaboration is a commitment to marry institutional knowledge with cutting-edge data analysis and interpretation to better understand key organizational, financial and managerial aspects of health care delivery,” said Guy David, associate professor in the Department of Health Care Management at the Wharton School and a senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. “We will consider research involving financial incentives, organization designs, contractual elements and other economic and behavioral dimensions to translate into action and improve how the health care system works.”
The collaboration, unique in its scale, depth, and focus, will center on the business and economics of health insurance and health care delivery as they affect markets, organizations and individuals. It will seek to produce a number of research studies in several areas, such as narrow networks, formularies, bundled payments, medical homes, and benefit design.
A study already underway focuses on how Anthem currently measures medical home performance and aims to identify what works best for group physician practices that are investing in technology, staffing and other resources to close gaps within health care.
“At this time of unprecedented change facing our industry, it is important for all of us to work together to improve how health care is delivered every day to consumers,” said Dr. Craig Samitt, Anthem chief clinical officer and executive vice president. “With this unique partnership, we aim to take research a step further to evaluate innovative, evidence-driven ideas using real-time pilots, to help drive transformation and improve accessibility, affordability, and quality.”
About the Wharton School
Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. With a broad global community and one of the most published business school faculties, Wharton creates economic and social value around the world. The School has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 9,000 participants in executive education programs annually and a powerful alumni network of 96,000 graduates.
About Anthem, Inc.
Anthem is working to transform health care with trusted and caring solutions. Our health plan companies deliver quality products and services that give their members access to the care they need. With more than 74 million people served by its affiliated companies, including nearly 40 million within its family of health plans, Anthem is one of the nation’s leading health benefits companies. For more information about Anthem’s family of companies, please visit www.antheminc.com/companies.
About LDI
Established 50 years ago to bridge the gap between scholars in business (Wharton) and medicine (Penn Medicine), the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI) is the University of Pennsylvania's center for research, policy analysis, and education on the medical, economic, and social issues that influence how U.S. healthcare is organized, financed, managed and delivered. The Institute connects all of Penn's schools and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia through its more than 230 Senior Fellows.
About HealthCore, Inc.
HealthCore, Inc. is the wholly-owned, independently operating health outcomes research subsidiary of Anthem, Inc. We work with life sciences companies, payers and providers, and government and academic organizations to provide real-world evidence in support of a wide variety of health care decisions. Our research capabilities include extensive experience in HEOR, Late Phase, Safety and Epidemiology and Survey-Based research services and solutions with our work designed to improve quality, safety and affordability in health care. With more than 20 years of experience, clinical and scientific research expertise, and exclusive access to a robust, integrated research environment containing information on nearly 60 million individuals from multiple health plans across the U.S., HealthCore delivers unparalleled clarity and actionable information to health care decision makers. To learn more about HealthCore, go to www.healthcore.com.