Leading health systems form Truveta to aggregate and sell anonymized patient data

Fourteen of the nation's leading health systems are joining forces to use artificial intelligence to compile de-identified patient data and then sell it to other health systems and researchers to create better patient outcomes through population health.

The startup, called Truveta, will enable innovations in patient care and the development of new therapies, according to the announcement.

With the vision of "saving lives with data," the platform will use machine learning and artificial intelligence to take billions of clinical data points provided by the health systems to aggregate and sell searchable health insights. The idea is that providers and researchers can use these data sets to learn quicker, move faster and improve patient outcomes.

The partnering health systems include AdventHealth, Advocate Aurora Health, Baptist Health of Northeast Florida, Bon Secours Mercy Health, CommonSpirit Health, Hawaii Pacific Health, Henry Ford Health System, Memorial Hermann Health System, Northwell Health, Novant Health, Providence health system, Sentara Healthcare, Tenet Health and Trinity Health.

The partnering health systems will provide data from the tens of millions of patients they care for across 40 states.

The Seattle-based startup is led by former Microsoft executive Terry Myerson and is board-advised with a focus on ethics and health equity, data integrity and clinical outcomes. The founding provider groups will continue to offer leadership and guidance.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Data has the potential to make fundamental changes in the healthcare delivery system, including reducing healthcare costs and hospital readmissions, creating targeted interventions, preventing adverse drug effects and more, according to the AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the need for healthcare to use data to mobilize better outcomes, the founding health systems said in the announcement. In the year since the pandemic began, the healthcare industry has made "remarkable progress," but Truveta hopes this is just the start.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how much the world needs to learn faster, so we can better serve our communities," Terry Myerson said in the announcement. "Our vision is to save lives with data. We want to help researchers find cures faster, empower every clinician to be an expert, and help families make the most informed decisions on their care. We believe the Truveta platform can help improve health equity and advance personalized medicine."

Protecting patients' data is a top priority for Truveta, according to the health systems. While the startup recognizes the possibilities for innovation that its platform has, Myerson says it will do so "with the utmost caution to protect the privacy of patients." As such, all data on the Truveta platform will be de-identified.

THE LARGER TREND

The idea for Truveta originally came from a realization by Providence health system that there were valuable health insights buried within the data that it and other systems were generating.

"For years we have seen the opportunity for diverse health providers to come together with a shared sense of purpose and use our collective data for the common good of humanity," said Dr. Rod Hochman, president and CEO of Providence. "With Truveta, we created a unique model that is led by the health providers, yet supported by one of the most talented technical teams to focus on health."

Twitter: @HackettMallory
Email the writer: mhackett@himss.org