Optum Labs collaborative adds 7 partners

Seven health organizations are joining with Optum Labs to use its large database to find out what works in healthcare.

Optum Labs, based in Cambridge, Mass., is a research and innovation center established by UnitedHealth Group's Optum unit and the Mayo Clinic. The collaborative is envisioned as a community of partners sharing information and knowledge, technologies and tools, and their own scientific expertise on a variety of research that can affect healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.

Optum Labs provides support from its economists, actuaries and researchers and a large database of de-identified clinical and claims data.

The latest partners are the American Medical Group Association; Boston University School of Public Health; Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pa.; Pfizer; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.; Tufts Medical Center in Boston; and the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. These seven join AARP, which became a founding consumer advocate organization with Optum Labs.

“We're bringing together healthcare partners from across the healthcare ecosystem,” Optum Labs CEO Dr. Paul Bleicher said.

Two areas currently receiving attention are longevity and wellness. More than 20 research initiatives covering a wide spectrum—including longevity and wellness, medical-device effectiveness, geographic variation in care and employee productivity—are in progress.

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