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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHospitals Are Mining Patients' Credit Card Data to Predict Who Will Get Sick
(Bloomberg Businessweek) University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which operates more than 20 hospitals in Pennsylvania and a health insurance plan, is using demographic and household data to try to improve patients health as well as its bottom line. It says it doesnt obtain details on individual credit card transactions, but more general data such as whether a patient owns her home, shops online, or lives with an elderly relative.
The UPMC Insurance Services Division, the health systems insurance provider, bought data on more than 2 million of its members to make predictions about which individuals are most likely to use the emergency room or an urgent care center, says Pamela Peele, the systems chief analytics officer.
Studies show that people with no children in the home who make less than $50,000 a year are more likely to use the ER rather than a private doctor, Peele says. UPMC wants to make sure those patients have access to a primary care physician or nurse practitioner they can contact before heading to the ER, she says. UPMC is also interested in knowing which patients dont own a car, which could indicate theyll have trouble getting routine, preventative care. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-03/hospitals-are-mining-patients-credit-card-data-to-predict-who-will-get-sick#p2
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Hospitals Are Mining Patients' Credit Card Data to Predict Who Will Get Sick (Original Post)
marmar
Jul 2014
OP
Hmmmm ... that's what I was thinking, a bit too rosy! Often bad things seem to come in
RKP5637
Jul 2014
#4
And this is one more reason why credit companies should not be allowed to use SSNs. n/t
Gormy Cuss
Jul 2014
#3
RKP5637
(67,101 posts)1. I think I see this as a good thing? n/t
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)2. They wouldn't describe it in any other way, now would they?
RKP5637
(67,101 posts)4. Hmmmm ... that's what I was thinking, a bit too rosy! Often bad things seem to come in
seemingly good packages!
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)3. And this is one more reason why credit companies should not be allowed to use SSNs. n/t
canoeist52
(2,282 posts)5. Privacy has become a story we tell to our granchildren.
Google "flu symptoms" searches shared with CDC and others.
https://epic.org/privacy/flutrends/