Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California Creating a Large Database
August 11, 2014
By Michael Guta
TMCnet Contributing Writer
The healthcare industry generates large volumes of data every single day across many different sectors. If all this information can be aggregated and made available in a single database, it is possible to use big data analytics to deliver actionable insights into the hands of the right people to improve one of the most bloated systems in the world, U.S. healthcare. Two insurance companies in California, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California, have come together to create a database of patient medical records and introduce an efficient way of making the information available to healthcare professionals throughout the state.
The centralized computer database called the California Integrated Data Exchange, or Cal Index, is going to be funded by both insurance companies as a not-for-profit organization. The exchange will cost $80 million to get it off the ground and keep it operational for the first three years.
The goal of this initiative is to streamline the health care system in the state of California and make the latest information available with a click of a button. This system will avoid duplicate lab tests, multiple medical imaging, prevent adverse drug interactions and more, which add to the cost of the overall healthcare infrastructure.
The announcement of the creation of this database immediately raised concerns from privacy advocates who are worried about very private information being housed in one location. Recent data breaches including that of a Russian gang that stole 1.2 billion online credentials, rightfully justify the anxiety that exists by consumers in the state and elsewhere. The creators of the database have announced individuals that do not want their records in the system have the option to opt out.
The benefit of having this information can prove to be invaluable for patients that are insured by both companies. There are many scenarios in which an individual is admitted into a hospital unconscious or unable to communicate. Anything from allergies to previous medical conditions can prove to be detrimental if the attending physician is not aware of them. But if the information is readily available, all the doctor has to do is look at their record in the database and quickly ascertain the best treatment options without running into the risk of delivering the wrong remedy.
Eventually Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California would like to have the rest of the health exchanges in California or even possibly the rest of the country into one organization; instead of having a fragmented hodgepodge of health information systems that is greatly underserving residents in cities and states across the country.
Edited by Adam Brandt
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