RCHE, OurHealth partner on research project to enhance care delivery

March 1, 2013  


WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University's Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering is partnering with OurHealth, a leading provider of onsite health management services for employers, on a research project to assess the viability of an innovative decision-support tool to enhance health outcomes.

The project is designed to help identify ways to improve care-management strategies as well as cost-saving opportunities by utilizing the clinical expertise at Indianapolis-based OurHealth and RCHE's strong informatics, data management and industrial engineering experience.

In addition, the project recognizes the critical role that accurate, timely and comprehensive information plays to ensure high-quality, evidence-based health care is delivered.

"Data can play a major role in improving the delivery of health care, but only if it is used, understood and applied in the medical world," said Richard Buckius, Purdue vice president for research. "Feedback is essential to bridging the gap between the research concept and a health-care environment that can truly make an impact. Through this partnership with OurHealth, Purdue's Regenstrief Center can help effect a usable end result with a provider committed to improving patient care."

As an integrated health management and primary care provider, OurHealth seeks to continually enhance its ability to improve decisions made at the point of care. Additionally, the decision-support tools will enable OurHealth, at the practice level, to more effectively obtain performance feedback, benchmark outcomes and share best practices.

"Our participation in this unique research demonstrates our ongoing commitment to helping our clients experience incomparable health-care treatment, and we are thrilled to extend our onsite clinical statistics and data to this research," said OurHealth CEO Ben Evans. "The information that we are able to provide will drastically impact the way that we provide services to our clients and patients. We are humbled and honored to be involved in this grant project with full anticipation of the findings."

Steve Witz, director of RCHE, said the center is expected to release results from the analysis within the upcoming year. RCHE research scientist Ping Huang is project leader.

Located in Purdue's Discovery Park, RCHE takes a research approach centered on the six aims issued by the Institute of Medicine: care that is patient-centered, safe, equitable, efficient, effective and timely. The center focuses on unique clinical partnerships that showcase four main research categories: the interaction between the patient and providers, patient care processes, patient care outcomes, and support systems. RCHE strives for quality relationships that optimize the quality of care for patients in need. 

About the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering

Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering (RCHE) was developed to apply academic principles from engineering, science and management to health care industry challenges, all with the goal of improving the health care delivery system. RCHE receives core funding from the Regenstrief Foundation, but also applies for and receives research grants. Center researchers come from nearly all 11 academic colleges at Purdue. RCHE also works with clinical and dissemination partners representing health-care providers and professional organizations from around the state and nation.

About OurHealth

OurHealth is a leading independent, clinically driven provider of integrated on-site health management services for employers. It focuses on enhancing workforce productivity and lowering health-care costs, leading to sustainable value. Using a consultative and analytical approach to design customized solutions for its clients, OurHealth provides onsite clinical care focused on the primary health-care needs of employees, while offering turnkey service with its Total Health Management Solution. The goal of this comprehensive program is to provide value-conscious care options for patients through health promotion, wellness and prevention efforts, lifestyle management, chronic condition and medication management support, on-site laboratory and pharmacy services, and referral guidance.

Writer: Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu

Sources: Richard Buckius, 765-494-6209, rbuckius@purdue.edu

Ben Evans, 317-522-4691

Steve Witz, 765-496-8303, switz@purdue.edu

Related website:
Rosen Center for Advanced Computing

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