Contact (UPMC Health Plan):
Gina Pferdehirt
Director, Public Relations & Community Relations
UPMC Health Plan
412-454-4953
pferdehirtgm@upmc.edu
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Contact (UPMC Health Plan): Gina Pferdehirt |
PITTSBURGH (Feb. 24, 2014) – Pamela Peele, Ph.D., Chief Analytics Officer for UPMC Health Plan and the UPMC Insurance Services Division, has been voted one of the top “Innovators, Up and Coming” by “Healthcare IT News” readers.
Dr. Peele is one of nine “game changers and trailblazers in healthcare IT (information technology)” who will be recognized at the H.I.T. Men & Women Awards Reception today in Orlando, Fla. The reception is being held during the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2014 conference and exhibition.
At UPMC Health Plan, Dr. Peele is responsible for data analytic activities, economic modeling, predictive modeling, statistical analysis, and machine learning. Her work focuses on the application of economic and statistical models to improve the health and welfare of populations. Dr. Peele’s analytics team supports robust health care strategies for nearly 2.3 million members to improve their clinical outcomes, while also keeping health insurance costs affordable.
Members of the UPMC Health Plan analytics team have diverse backgrounds that include engineering, physics, economics, public health, mathematics, and public policy and work with the clinical staff to facilitate building population health strategies and interventions to improve outcomes.
Dr. Peele’s team uses data such as medical claims, pharmacy claims, employee-completed health risk assessments, biometric screening results and other clinical data to provide employers with information about the employee population and risk factors. The information is used to support innovative benefit designs and launch worksite wellness campaigns that effectively engage members in healthy behaviors.
The analytics team additionally supports the work of the UPMC Insurance Services Division’s Center for High Value Health Care which has recently been awarded two prestigious federal contracts through the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) established through the Affordable Care Act, which focus on improving outcomes that are important to patients with chronic conditions.
As one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers and one of the largest integrated delivery and financing systems, UPMC focuses on developing innovative strategies for improving outcomes. UPMC has been awarded five consecutive Platinum Awards from the National Business Group on Health for Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles for the methods it uses to engage their 65,000 employees and their families in health improvement activities supported by robust population health analytic models.
The H.I.T. Men & Women awards honor people “who through their vision, talent and perseverance are advancing the adoption of technology to improve the effectiveness of healthcare.” Readers of Healthcare IT News voted for candidates from three categories: Enhancing Patient Care Through IT; Shapers and Influencers; and Innovators, Up and Coming.
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About UPMC Health Plan
UPMC Health Plan, the second-largest health insurer in western Pennsylvania, is owned by UPMC, an integrated global health enterprise. The integrated partner companies of the UPMC Insurance Services Division – which includes UPMC Health Plan, UPMC WorkPartners, LifeSolutions (EAP), UPMC for You (Medical Assistance), and Community Care Behavioral Health – offer a full range of group health insurance, Medicare, Special Needs, CHIP, Medical Assistance, behavioral health, employee assistance, and workers' compensation products and services to nearly 2.3 million members. Our local provider network includes UPMC as well as community providers, totaling more than 125 hospitals and more than 11,500 physicians throughout Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. For more information, visit www.upmchealthplan.com.