QualityMetric Receives Patent for Patient Health Survey Technology

LINCOLN, R.I., March 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Two senior scientists at QualityMetric Incorporated, part of Ingenix Life Sciences, were named inventors on the recently issued U.S. Patent No. 7,765,113, for their innovative work using computerized adaptive testing (CAT) technology to improve health surveys.

These surveys, pioneered by Mark Kosinski, MA and Jakob Bjorner, MD, PhD and others, help health plans and care providers assess functional health status as reported by patients themselves, known as patient-reported outcomes.  

"Dynamic Health Assessments, or DYNHA®, yield a wealth of data about an individual's own assessment of his or her well-being," said Kosinski, vice president and senior scientist at QualityMetric. "This information can be used to monitor and compare health outcomes for individual patients as well as across large populations, enabling health plans and care providers to measure how patients experience changes in their health status, daily functioning and other measures as a result of the care they receive."

"Computer adaptive tests adjust content based on patient responses, tailoring the assessment to gather only the most relevant health outcomes information from individual patients," said Gus Gardner, president and COO at QualityMetric. "The responses are scored on a standard metric so that results can be compared across populations, time points and conditions. Scoring, interpretation and reporting are accomplished in real time so authorized users can instantly see information that summarizes a patient's physical and mental health, ultimately supporting decisions about patient care."

Ingenix Life Sciences is committed to furthering capabilities like patient-reported outcomes in order to improve quality, efficiency and overall health for patients. Ingenix is serving the life sciences industry in a way that aligns with its work on behalf of clients throughout the rest of the health ecosystem – health care providers, payers and governments.  

Kosinski and Bjorner developed this technology with John E. Ware, Jr., PhD, James E. Dewey, PhD, and Barbara Sardinha, former colleagues at QualityMetric.

To learn more about DYNHA and understand how this technology helps QualityMetric's provider, payer, and life sciences clients better measure health outcomes, visit www.QualityMetric.com/dynha.

About QualityMetric

QualityMetric, an Ingenix company, works with the world's largest health care and life sciences companies to measure health outcomes. Its products help market new drugs and biologics, track health improvement or decline, screen populations for disease, and identify future health risks. QualityMetric's patient-reported outcome (PRO) surveys provide scientifically valid assessments of both physical and mental health. Its PROs include the SF-36v2®, SF-12v2®, and SF-8™ Health Surveys, Asthma Control Test™ (ACT™), Pain Impact Questionnaire™ (PIQ-6™), and DYNHA® Dynamic Health Assessments.

About Ingenix

Ingenix is a leading provider of health information, technology and consulting services. Organizations, institutions, businesses and government agencies that comprise the health care system depend on Ingenix solutions and insights to improve their performance. Visit www.ingenix.com for more information.

SOURCE QualityMetric Incorporated