San Francisco-based digital health company Carrum Health has incorporated metrics on patient outcomes and procedure appropriateness into its provider recommendation platform.
Carrum said Jan. 19 that its algorithm is currently the only quality tool available that includes such metrics. Typically, similar tools focus on broad metrics or rely on billing records or claims data that don't represent a given surgeon's full offerings. Hospitals or departments are often ranked in aggregate, despite differences among individual surgeons within a given department.
"As a physician, it's important to partner with organizations that share our commitment to high quality patient care," said Nicholas Theodore, MD, director of the Neurosurgical Spine Center and professor of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. "By measuring quality as well as appropriateness, Carrum Health is setting a higher standard by creating a system of measurement and enabling patients to identify best-in-class providers. At the same time, it allows providers to focus on providing care to patients who truly need it, ultimately driving better outcomes."