Qforma Unveils America's 'Most Influential Doctors' in Alzheimer's, Chronic Pain, Osteoporosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis

SANTA FE, N.M., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Alzheimer's Association, every 70 seconds someone develops Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia affecting more than five million people in America alone. Their loved ones who are seeking a local medical expert to help guide them through the management of this difficult condition now have a place to start.  

Qforma, an advanced analytics and predictive modeling company, today introduced the third phase of its online healthcare database "Most Influential Doctors," or MID, presented by USA TODAY. Available at www.influentialdoctors.usatoday.com, the first-of-its-kind database empowers consumers to easily identify local medical experts whom other physicians seek out for insight and counsel on the most widespread, chronic conditions.  

"In 2011, the first baby boomers will reach their 65th birthdays, and people of this age and older represent the majority of those diagnosed with Alzheimer's," said Kelly D. Myers, CEO of Qforma. "An estimated 11 million family members are currently caring for their loved ones with the disease, and the new MID rosters enable them to find the most informed health providers in and around their home towns who are focused on the care of Alzheimer's patients."  

The newly expanded MID rosters now include the top three-to-five physicians in virtually every U.S. metropolitan area for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and three other challenging conditions: chronic pain, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Pain is a silent epidemic in the U.S. An estimated 50 million Americans live with chronic pain caused by disease, disorder or accident. In the U.S. today, 10 million individuals are estimated to have osteoporosis and nearly 34 million more are estimated to have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for developing the disease. Rheumatoid arthritis affects 1.3 million Americans, 70 percent of whom are women.

The initial MID rosters, released last year, include breast cancer, depression, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The MID database is built upon Qforma's advanced analytic capabilities. Qforma's proprietary technology – developed by some of the country's top physicists, scientists and mathematicians – recognizes patterns in human interactions and reveals the most influential physicians in a given disease state or condition by geographic location. As opposed to using subjective surveys or opinion research, Qforma's approach identifies the regional medical leaders highlighted by the MID lists through the objective analysis of millions of data points that reflect important collaborative indicators such as referral networks, practice patterns, publication history and leadership positions in professional associations.

MIDs interact regularly with self-selected groups of their respected peers to gain knowledge and make better decisions on behalf of their patients, and their colleagues look to them for medical opinion and best practices guidance. The MID database enables consumers to locate these "action leaders" in a given disease or condition in their local area and helps them make more informed decisions about community medical care.  

About Qforma

Qforma is the leading advanced analytics and predictive modeling company specializing in solutions for the health sciences industry.  Qforma leverages the talents of physicists, mathematicians and programmers, and has developed a unique approach to quantifying large data flows with the purpose of eliminating the inefficiencies of traditional sales and marketing techniques. In May 2009, Qforma launched "Most Influential Doctors" (MID), a first-of-its-kind online database presented by USA TODAY that provides consumers with information about the top community medical leaders in virtually every metropolitan area in the U.S.  The database is available at www.influentialdoctors.usatoday.com.  

Qforma is headquartered in Santa Fe, NM, with offices in Princeton, NJ.  More information is located at www.Qforma.com.

The data that Qforma analyzes are generated by Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry. More information is located at http://www.wkhealth.com.

Data analyzed also includes verification and sanctions data generated by Health Market Science, the leading source for trusted healthcare provider data, software and advanced analytics in the United States. Health Market Science serves all segments of healthcare, including life sciences, medical device, pharmacy, PBM, Health Information Exchange, payer, hospital systems and health plans. More information is located at visit www.healthmarketscience.com.

SOURCE Qforma