disease management programs

IMS Health announced this week that it is buying PharMetrics of Watertown, Massachusetts, for an undisclosed sum. PharMetrics has a database which links patient claims data to prescription claims data. That information is used by insurers to monitor disease management programs and by drug companies to help understand how effective their drug is in capturing "share of disease." IMS Health is the dominant franchise in pharma information and maintains a data set of all physicians prescribing …

This week the University of Miami and Humana announced that they will work together on a research center to study the ways in which wellness and disease management programs can be combined to help improve patient care and reduce healthcare costs. Humana chief innovation officer Jack Lord, says the research facility, which will be called the Health Services Research Center, will explore ways in which strategies developed for wellness programs can help patients considered likely to develop …