Cigna Uses AI To Check If Patients Are Taking Their Medications (wsj.com) 32
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Wall Street Journal: Cigna plans to expand a system that uses artificial intelligence to identify gaps in treatment of chronic diseases, such as patients skipping their medications, and deliver personalized recommendations for specific patients. The product, called Health Connect 360, integrates data from a combination of sources and analytical tools, some developed at Cigna and others brought in as part of its $54 billion acquisition of pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co., completed late last year. Express Scripts, which began developing the service two years ago, rolled out portions of it to some customers this year.
Health Connect 360 was developed for treatment of chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease, as well as for pain management. The system aggregates medical, pharmacy, lab and biometric data -- such as information from glucometers, which measure blood-sugar levels -- into a dashboard that is accessible through an online interface. The dashboard will be visible to the service's customers and to Express Scripts case managers and nurses with access rights. The system can also feed information to electronic-medical record systems for physicians. Cigna is already using AI to predict whether patients might abuse or overdose on prescription opioids. Another Cigna tool, One Guide, provides personalized help to health-insurance holders on their benefit plans, appointments and health coaching. The new Health Connect 360 system combines algorithms that analyze data such as clinical and pharmacy information with predictive models to generate recommendations and ways to best engage a patient, whether through an app or in person.
Health Connect 360 was developed for treatment of chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease, as well as for pain management. The system aggregates medical, pharmacy, lab and biometric data -- such as information from glucometers, which measure blood-sugar levels -- into a dashboard that is accessible through an online interface. The dashboard will be visible to the service's customers and to Express Scripts case managers and nurses with access rights. The system can also feed information to electronic-medical record systems for physicians. Cigna is already using AI to predict whether patients might abuse or overdose on prescription opioids. Another Cigna tool, One Guide, provides personalized help to health-insurance holders on their benefit plans, appointments and health coaching. The new Health Connect 360 system combines algorithms that analyze data such as clinical and pharmacy information with predictive models to generate recommendations and ways to best engage a patient, whether through an app or in person.
No They Aren't (Score:1)
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Most are just forgetting (Score:3)
Most of the time, the patients are just forgetting to take their meds. Not actively seeking ways to avoid them.
Sure, reminders through clock alarms or apps can help a bit. But the patient could still click to check the alarm and e.g. still forget the meds by the time they reach home.
Checking if they actually opened the bottle is a much better way to check if they remembered taking the meds (though they could still lose the pill somewhere and forget it while on their way to fetch a glass of water to swallow
Life is finite and I'm good with that. (Score:2)
AI for this? (Score:3)
Well then I've been doing AI for decades...
With today's electronic medical records being required by law and your insurance company necessarily having access to all of your records in order to process the bills submitted by providers, wouldn't finding out if you take your medication just a SQL query away?
If you are regularly filling your medications for a specific condition, seems to me that you'd likely be taking them. This isn't AI.
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But that is not riding the AI gravy train.
if (!AI) {DoSomethingToClaimAI; CallNewsMedia}
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The problem is that pharmacy data is usually kept in separate systems from the prescribing provider's EMR. And the prescribing provider may not even have access to the pharmacy system other than a rudimentary ability to send a prescription. Health care in the US is soooo fragmented. Just because the data is out there doesn't mean it's accessible. You note that the insurance company had to BUY the data from the pharmacy company. Plus, many of these systems are very closed source, without documented schema. S
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Yes, but the insurance company knows about all the claims they've processed which includes 2 things... #1, what medications they've processed claims for including the drug, dosage and days's supply. and #2 what other medical services you've received and they've processed claims for. Armed with these two things, they *should* have enough data in their database already. Thus, it's an SQL query for them to match the claim data to the customer and tell, fairly well, how faithful you are in taking your medicat
Worst health coverage I ever had (Score:3)
At my last employer, I used to have Cigna. They charged an extra $300/yr (single coverage) unless you submit a blood test to them annually. They insisted that the blood work was only for "coaching" purposes.
Ok Google, have I taken my meds? (Score:2)
I'm THX 1138 and I haven't been myself lately.
Disenfranchisement and forced addictions ... (Score:2)
...what could possible go wrong...?
It's already horrible enough, that doctors somehow managed to put themselves in power above anyone's most basic human right to choose for himself.
Although, with morons refusing essential vaccinations I partially get it, but what if the doctor *is* that moron and you're not? Yes, just because you memorized 12000 pages (and forgot most of it by now), doesn't mean you are any smart, dear physician. My USB drive can do better.
But deliberately designing treatments that never c
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Because we have warning labels on everything for everything. Look at a simple can of cleaner, theres more warning labels then there is on how to properly use the cleaner.
Sadly evolution is making better idiots. And we are keeping said idiots alive longer, thanks to modern medical science.
Do something stupid, testicles damaged? It's ok we can take out sperm and freeze it for when you want to have kids..... No! The idiot took a poorly calculated risk and deserves to be chlorinated out of the gene pool. Im pre
This tech is overkill (Score:1)
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So does the US, but sadly pillpack was purchased by amazon and has patents pertaining to this, so... yeah we can't without asking amazon to do so.
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They probably determined some people were stretching the medications and using reduced doses since they can't afford them. Cigna will use AI to reduce their payouts to correctly account for their reduced usage
AceAge Karie - another solution to the problem (Score:2)
Ace Age's Karie connected medication dispenser: https://aceage.com/ [aceage.com]) is another way of providing monitoring of whether or not patient's are taking their medications. Studies done on the unit shows that it does exactly what Cigna is trying to do.
For full disclosure - I am an investor in the company.
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The link is to an interesting corporation. And yes, their intent can be regarded as somewhat controversial.
Here in Ontario, the govt pays for many drugs for seniors, even without universal pharmacare. This negotiating clout helps keep drug prices lower than in the US. Don't believe me? Look into your local bus companies offering medical shopping trips to Canada.
Health care providers would be interested in reducing costs, and this a win-win. All it means is some reduction in privacy. Know what? We're not all
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Um.. too much Creep factor. (Score:2)
Sorry, it might be useful to some. It probably doesn't work as well as described, but ESPECALLY if it did I wouldn't want anything to do with it.
I have no desire to have total strangers have that level of insight into my life, by way, if your able, DON'T and if you do don't tell me because I will cease all contact with you if you do.
I know of someone who walked into a high end clothing store and the cashier looked up and said "Hello Mr. X" as he walked in. He looked at the cashier and said "How did you kno
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It's all about the money (Score:3)
Reading this article, I was getting frustrated trying to figure out how they were going to use this new tool to screw me over somehow. I'm still not sure about the details but then I did notice this line: "results that also have the effect of lowering overall costs for the providers." Be sure of this, someone, somewhere is going to be denied service because an algorithm disagreed with their doctor.
Pre-crime (Score:2)
So, they have a system to predict unwanted behaviors. This is a "pre-crime" type of system, and should not be relied upon.
No AI can predict the future.
Ban pre-crime-type software.
Surveillance State (Score:1)
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Use (Score:2)
This seems a lot more like you not picking up your refills, suggesting you're stopping in the bigger picture, or neglecting renewals for chronic conditions, rather than tracking every day use.
yes, and no (Score:2)
Systems like this could be very helpful for patients, and they could be designed to protect patient privacy. too. However, the likelihood of both of those things happening in our current system is very low. They will be abused, and will not serve the well-being of patients.