Press release

Covera Health Announces Multi-Year Strategic Collaboration with Walmart to Confront Misdiagnoses in Radiology

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Sponsored by Businesswire

Covera
Health
today announced a multi-year, strategic collaboration with
Walmart designed to improve the quality of healthcare for eligible
associates and their dependents, by helping them avoid misguided and
unnecessary treatment based on inaccurate radiology diagnoses.

For years, many patients and health insurers have falsely assumed that
there is no variability in the quality of radiological care between
providers; as a result, imaging centers are often selected based on
price or convenience. However, recent
research
has revealed how dramatically the accuracy of radiology
exams, and the resulting diagnoses patients receive, can vary from one
provider to the next.

According to Ron Vianu, CEO of Covera Health, “Getting an accurate
diagnosis remains one of medicine’s greatest unmet needs. Not only does
our program identify those providers and centers who are outperforming,
objectively measuring quality enables us to deliver actionable feedback
to help all providers perform better. Collaborating with Walmart expands
our radiology program to improve care for millions of patients
nationwide, which is the goal behind everything we do.”

In a blinded study, 10 radiology centers performed the same low-back MRI
on a single 63-year-old patient.1 All 10 returned different
diagnoses that could have resulted in vastly different treatment plans.
Given the foundational nature of radiology in healthcare today, such
mistakes often lead to patient harm by delaying the start of effective
treatment, or by causing patients to undergo the wrong surgical
procedures, which can negatively impact quality of life and outcomes.
Multiple, independent studies have confirmed the adverse consequences of
misdiagnoses.2,3 The Walmart-Covera Health collaboration
marks the first substantial effort to systematically address these
challenges.

“The goal of our benefit plans is to provide our associates and their
family members with access to high-quality health care to ensure they
receive the right care at the right time,” said Lisa Woods, Sr. Director
of Benefits Design and Strategy at Walmart U.S. “A quality MRI or CT
scan can improve the accuracy of the diagnosis early in the care
journey, helping create the correct treatment plan with the best
opportunity for recovery.”

Walmart associates and dependents on the company’s health plan now have
access to Covera Health’s innovative Radiology Centers of Excellence
Program, which features three main components: a nationwide network of
superior radiologists; ongoing quality assurance and monitoring, with
actionable feedback for doctors; and improved health outcomes for
patients.

Covera Health’s Radiology Network

Radiology providers and centers in Covera Health’s network have been
statistically proven to deliver more accurate diagnoses on a consistent
basis, based on over seven years worth of clinical data evaluated by
Covera Health’s proprietary quality analytics. Patients are
automatically directed to best-in-class care at these Radiology Centers
of Excellence, which are located in all 50 states, including every major
urban center and the majority of rural areas.

Ongoing Quality Assurance and Monitoring Program

Covera Health, in collaboration with leading academic radiology centers,
directly partners with its Radiology Centers of Excellence in the form
of ongoing monitoring of diagnostic accuracy. Findings are shared in the
form of actionable clinical feedback to help providers further improve
clinical quality and ensure that patients are connected with the right
care from the start—thereby avoiding inappropriate, and potentially
harmful, treatment pathways.

Improved Health Outcomes for Patients

In a preliminary evaluation of approximately 80,000 patients, Covera
Health demonstrated that higher quality radiology resulted in improved
health outcomes for those routed to its Centers of Excellence versus
those who were not. Participants were more likely to receive correct
care and return to work faster, while radiologists were able to
demonstrate the value of their expertise, making Covera Health’s program
attractive to patients, providers, and payers alike.

About Covera Health

Covera Health is leading a revolution in healthcare quality by
partnering with doctors to better define, measure, and deliver quality
care. The company leverages advanced data analytics to build programs
for employers, health plans, and other healthcare entities that reduce
misdiagnoses, improve patient outcomes, and reduce medical costs. Covera
Health’s first solution, its innovative Radiology Centers of Excellence
Program, operates in all 50 states and now covers over one million
lives. For more information, please visit www.coverahealth.com.

References:

1.
Variability in diagnostic error rates of 10 MRI centers. Herzog et al.
The Spine Journal 2017.

2. Based on an independent, prospective, randomized study involving ~80k
patients undergoing advanced imaging, conducted by a Fortune 50 payer
over 16 months. Data on file.

3. Based on a longitudinal claims analysis in a retrospective,
statistically-controlled study involving 7,617 patients in 48 states who
received musculoskeletal or spine diagnostic MRI exams. Data on file.