Analytics in Action News

4 Health Systems Join Provider-Created Data Collective to Improve Care

WellSpan Health, Centura Health, MetroHealth, and Virtua Health have joined Truveta, a collective of providers using de-identified patient data to support research and clinical care.

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Source: Getty Images

By Shania Kennedy

- Provider-created data company Truveta announced that four health systems — WellSpan Health, Centura Health, MetroHealth, and Virtua Health — have joined its collective, which aims to improve patient care through the use of data and analytics.

Truveta’s members provide care in over 20,000 clinics and 700 hospitals across 43 states, according to the press release. Data gathered from this care is then de-identified and provided to Truveta daily for pooling and analytics. These pooled data are then made available for medical research.

In a blog post accompanying the press release, Truveta CEO Terry Myerson stated that Truveta’s data pool is comprised of complete patient data, including full EMRs, from 65 million patients. That information is augmented with social determinants of health (SDOH), mortality, and claims data. These data are used for research concerned with advancing patient care, monitoring safety events, and studying the comparative effectiveness of any drug or device.

In the press release, Myerson and other member health system leaders highlighted the need for increased collaboration and speed in medical research.

“The coronavirus pandemic made it very clear that the world needs answers faster,” Myerson stated. “Working together, we can help researchers find cures faster, empower every clinician to become an expert, and help families make the most informed decisions about their care.”

Peter D. Banko, president and CEO of Centura Health, echoed this sentiment: “Health care needs to be collaborative, with a focus on working together with one another and our communities to bring health and wholeness to every community, every neighborhood, and every life.”

Other leaders highlighted the collective’s capacity to advance health equity.

“At MetroHealth, we are committed to redefining health care by going beyond medical treatment to improve the foundations of community health and wellbeing,” said Akram Boutros, MD, president and CEO of MetroHealth, in a press release. “By joining Truveta, we can work together as a broader learning community alongside other health systems and life sciences leaders to advance clinical research, improve the lives of our patients, and address health equity.”

With the addition of these four health systems, Truveta raises its membership to 24 organizations.

The collective was formed last year after 14 health systems, including AdventHealth, Advocate Aurora Health, Bon Secours Mercy Health, CommonSpirit Health, Hawaii Pacific Health, Northwell Health, Providence health system, Sentara Healthcare, and Tenet Health, partnered to leverage big data analytics for enhanced care insights.

Since then, Truveta has taken major steps to bolster its medical research and health equity efforts.

In January, Truveta launched a strategic partnership with LexisNexis Risk Solutions to improve research quality and enable insights related to health equity as part of the collective’s goal to address health disparities and SDOH.