UnitedHealthcare’s health services and analytics arm Optum and California-based healthcare service network John Muir Health announced last week that they have entered into a partnership to utilize data analytics to boost patient care as well as improve clinical and operational performance.
Through the partnership, Optum will supply their operational technologies, expertise in administrative services and analytics solutions and tools to help John Muir achieve their goal of improving care experiences. Optum will also manage John Muir’s nonclinical functions, including revenue cycle management, information technology, purchasing, claims process and analytics, as well as supporting and enhancing utilization management services and ambulatory care coordination for John Muir’s Physician Network.
As part of the terms of the partnership, 540 of John Muir’s employees will transition to Optum in order to allow them to build on their current work through additional access to technologies and skill development opportunities.
Working together, Optum and John Muir expect to be able to streamline administrative operations and apply proven approaches to integrated and coordinated care in order to lower costs and maintain care quality. Optum also hopes to provide John Muir’s providers with data-driven insights at the point of care, improving consumer engagement in healthcare decisions and boosting providers’ ability to identify chronic conditions sooner.
Commenting on the partnership, John Muir Health CEO Cal Knight noted that “Optum’s expertise and capabilities will help us expand upon the high-quality patient care we provide to the Bay Area community…we share common values with Optum, and this new relationship will help us further deliver on our mission to improve the health of the people we serve. We are committed to remaining independent while embracing partnerships that help us grow, and serve more patients.”
For Optum, this latest partnership builds upon the company’s broader effort to delivering high-quality care at a lower cost. Speaking on behalf of his company, Optum CEO Andrew Witty stated that “we are excited to take this important step in building a next-generation comprehensive, coordinated health care organization…together we will improve patient health and experiences while lowering costs across the continuum of care – including primary, specialty, urgent and surgical care.”
