PwC Launches Digital Initiative to Improve Medical Research

PwC recently announced the launch of DoubleJump Health, a consumer health accelerator that speeds the pace of innovation in person-centered health and brings medical and scientific breakthroughs to the market more quickly. There are two solutions that are first to launch: DoubleJump Interchange, aimed at breaking down barriers for ecosystem collaboration, data integration and analysis; and Bodylogical from DoubleJump Health, which will help predict chronic health outcomes at an individual and population level.

"We believe that in order to thrive in the New Health Economy, businesses need more than a competitive edge. They must accelerate—even leapfrog—innovation. And that's where DoubleJump Health comes in," says Kelly Barnes, partner, PwC Health Industries practice leader. "PwC's investment in this area is game-changing for our clients and the health care industry in order to meet the complex challenges of the future."

DoubleJump Interchange is a revolutionary platform that enables traditional and nontraditional health care stakeholders to connect into a cloud-based interchange to share data, information, research, and best practices across an enterprise or between organizations. This is important as all of the players in the health value chain need to be able to effectively connect data to achieve better outcomes. While many talk about the possibilities of Big Data in health care, DoubleJump Interchange brings together the right partners for a purposeful exchange of information to improve the health of consumers.

For example, DoubleJump Interchange can help connect the dots between a patient's wearable device data collected at home, to their vital signs taken at a retail clinic, to their historical health data stored with their primary care doctor. This improved access to a patient's longitudinal health data is important during a time when, according to PwC's Health Research Institute, 81% of consumers are open to non-traditional care delivery, such as telehealth or retail clinics. Yet, 48% of physicians believe that nontraditional care settings have had a negative impact on care coordination. Thus, there is work to do to prove to physicians the value of accurate and reliable integrated health data in improving care delivery.

"Our complex health care system suffers from too many data siloes, a lack of patient data transparency, and an inability of an expanded care team to collaborate on behalf of a patient," says Mark Mynhier, principal at PwC Health Industries. "DoubleJump Interchange breaks down barriers between traditional and nontraditional health care stakeholders, allowing more effective care team collaboration and enabling anytime, anywhere care that meets the needs of chronic disease patients."

The second offering, Bodylogical from DoubleJump Health, is a scientifically developed digital model of the human body that enables true-life simulations to predict the likely progression of chronic diseases in the future based on today's actions and interventions. By using Bodylogical, pharmaceutical companies, providers, payers, employers, researchers, and consumers can better understand how interventions impact individual patients or patient populations in order to become healthier faster and less expensively. This is critical as each year, chronic diseases cause 70% of deaths in the United States and account for 86% of the nation's $3.2 trillion in health care spending.

"Big Data—the industry's most advanced, current decision-making tool—is backward looking. It enables statistical models of the past outcomes of populations to make broad predictions about future ones. With Bodylogical, we can go beyond Big Data and look forward to show the impact of health choices before they are made," says Paul D'Alessandro, principal at PwC Health Industries.

Bodylogical mirrors the system of connected physiological components in the human body, focused on major areas such as circulatory, respiratory, digestive, endocrine, and renal, which are most effected by chronic diseases. Put together, PwC can create a "virtual consumer" that can be manipulated to see how one change in the body impacts other systems and overall health. For example, it can show the impact sleep and exercise have on a person's risk of developing diabetes over time. This service can enable payers to identify at-risk individuals and populations to predict and mitigate negative outcomes; can enable pharmaceutical companies to run faster and more efficient clinical trials with greater certainty about their results; and can connect to a range of existing health technologies, even consumer-level mobile devices and wearables, to help consumers and the entire health community understand the impact of decisions on overall health.

To learn more about DoubleJump Health, the Interchange or Bodylogical, join PwC experts at the DoubleJump Health Theater at the HIMSS 2016 Conference & Exhibition in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, March 1, and Wednesday, March 2, there will be special screenings of films and demonstrations featuring the innovative work being done with the DoubleJump Interchange to help combat diabetes in South Texas, and the predictive innovation in chronic disease being done via Bodylogical.

Source: PwC