Software solutions provider HHS Technology Group (HTG), health data company Datavant and data strategist Mathematica are teaming up to provide public and private sector access to a database focused on battling chronic kidney disease (CKD) and long-term COVID-19.
The collaboration aims to increase awareness about preventable kidney disease, develop strategies to reduce CKD and uncover financially sustainable methods to prevent, detect and manage the condition, the group said in a Sept. 13 release.
Patients with CKD are at a higher risk of developing poor outcomes from COVID-19, according to the companies, which pointed to data from Michigan that show at least 40% of all deaths related to COVID-19 in the state were linked to kidney disease.
In that state alone, 1 in 7 residents have CKD, representing about 1 million people. This costs the state Medicaid program more than $1 billion a year to treat.
The companies' solution has been to develop a real-time data analysis platform to capture, match and evaluate data across a spectrum of sources including Medicare, Medicaid, hospitals, labs, physician offices and commercial payers. The database is designed to help medical providers identify and intervene with patients at risk of developing CKD and long COVID earlier than with conventional means.
“Chronic kidney disease is preventable through early identification, which makes it all the more agonizing that so many Americans continue to experience this silent killer,” HTG President Brett Furst said in the release. “As a result of this initiative, state Medicaid agencies now have the data analytic tools to move quickly on chronic kidney disease prevention and reduce preventable disease, deaths and hospitalizations.”
"With real-time analytics that deliver insights for early detection of high-risk patients, medical providers are empowered to deliver timely diagnosis and treatments for better health outcomes," Christopher Trenholm, general manager of Mathematica's health unit, said in the same release.