Startup ODH launched as a health care analytics solutions provider with the goal of enhancing the quality of mental health treatment and patient care through technology.
While patients with complex medical conditions comprise about 5 percent of the U.S. population, they are estimated to represent nearly 50 percent of overall medical expenditures, according to a report by The NIHCM Foundation.
The company’s first offering will stem from a collaboration with IBM, leveraging IBM’s deep data analytics expertise.
“The major problem in mental health is fragmentation of care and the data systems that guide and manage that care,” Michael Jarjour, president and CEO of ODH, told eWEEK. “This fragmentation leads to inappropriate and inefficient care and treatment of these patients. These mental health systems are resource-constrained so it is absolutely essential that resources be allocated in the most efficient way possible for the plan members. ODH aims to solve these challenges by developing cutting-edge technology solutions.”
He explained ODH has spent more than four years on the development of its flagship product and utilizes select IBM technologies as fundamental components of its technology architecture.
This issue of disproportionate medical expenditure on a small segment of the population has led to increased focus on analyzing sub-populations with the greatest care needs and medical costs.
Particularly in the area of mental health, there has been difficulty integrating information from disparate data systems, resulting in incomplete patient history and sub-optimal coordination of medical and mental health benefits.
Moreover, mental health predictive modeling tools and health care provider comparison tools are not widely available — especially for complex care patients with serious mental illness.
“All payer and provider entities face a similar challenge of how to best allocate limited resources to achieve optimal outcomes for patients and covered members,” Jarjour said. “Those involved in behavioral health work in a uniquely challenging environment due to factors such as complex payment models, clinical challenges and siloed IT systems and databases.”
He explained data analytics capabilities could help payers identify which patients have the greatest need for higher-level intervention or monitoring, with the goal of improving patient care and outcomes, noting data from multiple sources can be integrated and analyzed to help identify members with unmanaged illnesses.
Jarjour said ODH would continue to develop its flagship product as a unique offering to improve patient care and transform the behavioral health market and said the company would announce additional details about their plans in the near future.