Hawaii Health System Launches Population Health Analytics Collaboration

Hawaii Health Network (HHN) and COPE Health Solutions (CHS) have announced a population health analytics partnership focused on providing value-based payment insights to enhance performance under a new Medicare risk arrangement for the clinically integrated network (CIN).

A CIN is defined as “a formal group of healthcare providers working together to deliver efficient, affordable, coordinated care to patients,” according to Definitive Healthcare. CINs, though similar to ACOs, are distinct legal entities that providers join when they form an ACO. However, both are characterized by providers working together to improve care and lower costs.

Under the new partnership, CHS will provide population health management analytics services to HHN via its software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, Analytics for Risk Contracting (ARC). ARC’s integration comes as HHN enters its first risk-based arrangement with Humana and United for a Medicare population in Oahu, according to the press release.

The ARC platform is designed to integrate claims from payers and data from EHRs, labs, social determinants of health (SDOH), and other sources. These data are then paired with national cost and utilization benchmarks to enable analytics that will help HHN identify opportunities to improve the quality of care, reduce costs, and grow its network.

The press release further states that ARC provides role-specific reports and dashboards for health system staff, which include insights and help pinpoint actionable steps they can take to achieve improvements at the management and practice levels. In addition to the implementation of ARC, CHS will also provide a team of experts to collaborate with HHN to identify and prioritize financial and quality improvement measures.

“Investing in our analytics capabilities early on with a trusted partner with national expertise will enable us to achieve the triple aim for our population and provide the sustainable foundation for the growth of the network,” said Amy Feeley-Austin, executive director of HHN, in a press release. “We want to ensure we’re using the best tools available to support our clinical leadership, providers, and the health of our members.”

This partnership is part of a growing trend in healthcare to prioritize data analytics and value-based care strategies.

In 2019, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) indicated that data analytics strategies are essential for population health management. The IHI recommended that any population health management strategy begin with a three-party data review, which entails looking at health system-wide data on utilization metrics and outcomes for the population, interviewing patients receiving services from the health system, and interviewing providers about their needs. Then, this information can be translated into strategy.

Earlier this year, Nemours Children’s Health spoke with HealthITAnalytics about how the system took a similar approach, using analytics and population identification to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to patients. The health system is also adding an SDOH screening tool to primary care services across its network.