Optum Labs Research Collaborative Strengthens Collective Resource Base Through Addition of Five Leading Organizations

From UnitedHealth Group:

Optum Labs Research Collaborative Strengthens Collective Resource Base Through Addition of Five Leading Organizations

• Addition of leading academic institutions and life sciences companies advances Optum Labs’ mission to improve health care delivery and patient outcomes
• A total of 20 organizations now actively collaborating on groundbreaking health care research initiatives

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Jan. 14, 2015) — 

Optum Labs, the collaborative research and innovation center co-founded by Optum and Mayo Clinic, announced the addition of five new collaborators committed to improving the quality and value of patient care:

• The Brown University School of Public Health
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• MIT Sloan School of Management 
• Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
• ResMed

“Our 20 diverse collaborators provide unique insights and perspectives to the growing number of research studies under way,” said Paul Bleicher, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Optum Labs.  “These additional organizations bring a new level of depth and breadth to Optum Labs’ ability to make continued progress in collaborative research that enhances patient care.”

Launched in 2013, Optum Labs is the first open, collaborative research and innovation center designed to accelerate improvements in patient care and patient value. Its resources include a robust, de-identified health information database capable of linking both clinical and administrative claims information. Optum Labs brings together a community of health care organizations dedicated to improving patient care by sharing information assets, technologies, knowledge, tools and scientific expertise. Research is linked to the clinical environment through prototyping and testing in Optum and partners’ care settings, with a goal of achieving knowledge that improves health care delivery and patient outcomes.

Optum Labs participants have access to information resources, proprietary analytical tools and scientific expertise to help drive the discovery of new applications, testing of new care pathways and other opportunities to drive innovation in wellness and care delivery. 

About Optum LabsOptum Labs was established through a partnership between Optum, a leading information and technology-enabled health services business, and Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research, and education, as an open center for research and innovation. AARP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership of more than 37 million individuals, joined the collaborative as Founding Consumer Advocate Organization in late 2013. Optum Labs brings together a community of partners dedicated to improving patient care by sharing information assets, technologies, knowledge tools, and scientific expertise. Research partners bring diverse perspectives to shared problems, and address questions that reflect patient care needs. Partners have access to in-depth and expansive de-identified clinical and claims data in an environment of innovative thinking and collaboration. Optum Labs is based in Cambridge, Mass. For more information, visitwww.optum.com/optumlabs, and follow Optum Labs on Twitter, @OptumLabs.

  Tags: Optum, Press Release, Innovation