BetterDoctor pivot to provider data (May 2016)
It’s been great to finally announce the details of BetterDoctor’s long-secret-project called BetterData Alliance. Details below.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (March 22, 2016) – BetterDoctor is proud to announce its collaboration with America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) to solve the doctor directory problem that has plagued the healthcare industry for decades.
Participants in the BetterData Alliance include health insurance companies, health systems and doctors who work together to improve the quality of doctor databases. Once validated, the doctor data will be made available on consumer web platforms, helping millions of patients gain easier access to accurate doctor data.
BetterDoctor will be working with Blue Shield of California, Anthem, Health Net, Humana, SCAN, LA Care, Western Health, and Molina Healthcare.
“BetterDoctor was founded on the premise of helping every patient find the right doctor. Now with the collaboration with AHIP and health insurance plans we are able to increase doctor data quality and help millions of consumers,” says Ari Tulla, CEO and Co-Founder at BetterDoctor.
How does BetterData Alliance work and achieve higher data quality?
1. Health plans share their doctor data with BetterDoctor
2. BetterDoctor validates the data and proactively contacts doctors
3. Validated doctor data is pushed back in real-time to health plans and made available to over 100 healthcare companies who use the BetterDoctor APIs
4. BetterDoctor notifies health plans of validated doctor changes
5. Health plans quickly incorporate validated data into their member-facing directories
“Consumers benefit when they have the information they need to make the best decisions about their coverage and choice of providers,” AHIP President and CEO Marilyn Tavenner said. “Updating and maintaining provider directories is a shared responsibility between health plans and providers, and this latest pilot effort is designed to proactively address gaps in reporting in order to improve the experience for consumers and simplify the process for providers.”
In a joint press call, Paul Markovich, CEO of Blue Shield of California and leader of AHIP’s task force to fix provider directories, explained, “It is imperative that we get accurate information to consumers. We recognize that it takes both providers and health plans. We want to make it as easy as possible for providers. Make it a single stop for providers to update this information and have the confidence that it’s updated with all health plans.”
The BetterData Alliance was conceptualized in the spring of 2015 and was designed as an industry solution to comply with regulatory efforts—including Medicare Advantage standards, California’s SB-137, and the Exchange Marketplace standards—to improve the accuracy of provider data. The alliance was formed to share costs, increase efficiency and develop a shared methodology to validate provider information.
Finding a solution to the data quality problem is key to moving healthcare innovation forward and to deliver good quality care to consumers.
To learn more about the BetterData Alliance visit data.betterdoctor.com.
To read AHIP’s press release, click here.
