IBM Watson tackles heart disease with CVS Health

The partnership, which both companies announced Thursday, is aimed at enabling health care practitioners to gain insights from a wide mix of health information sources, including medical health records, pharmacy and medical claims information, environmental factors, and fitness devices.

The joint CVS Health/IBM Watson Health solution will be optimized for use across a range of chronic conditions.

“The ultimate goal is the improvement in the outcomes, reduction of costs and an overall better experience for patients at the end of the day”, said Shahram Ebadollahi, vice president, innovation and chief science officer at IBM Watson Health.

The partnership between IBM and CVS will be useful for a variety of healthcare providers, including pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and connected healthcare providers, while also helping CVS’ network of pharmacies improve patient health and lowering costs, said Troyen Brennan, EVP and chief medical officer for CVS Health.

MinuteClinic, CVS/pharmacy and the participating health care providers will begin to work toward streamlining and enhancing communication through their EHR systems. Earlier this year, IBM Watson announced collaborations with Medtronic (MDT), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Apple (AAPL) to link health care companies to a new cloud-based architecture. The tool will be helpful for health care workers in predicting diseases, according to TechCrunch.

He added that the main aim behind making these types of systems work is to open lines of communication between a pharmacist, clinic staff and a patient’s physician and that technology can help facilitate this dialogue.

For patients who consent, St. Luke’s and CVS will share the information through the secured integration of the patients’ electronic health records, according to a St. Luke’s news release. Here’s why the deal is poised to shake up the way you think about health care.

The partnership is focused on addressing issues faced by patients with chronic diseases, including hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. If more comprehensive care is needed, patients can follow up with their primary care provider and have access to affiliates’ services as appropriate. The company has recently made a number of acquisitions in the medical data sector, including Phytel, Explorys, and Curam.

CVS Health encompasses the CVS brands, including its pharmacy, MinuteClinic, Caremark and specialty programs.

IBM will use CVS patient information to alert health officials of potential problems that could occur in the person’s future.

“As patient’s preferences for where and how they seek health care continue to evolve, St. Luke’s will continue to identify opportunities to ensure that high-quality, cost-effective care is well coordinated, regardless of where it is delivered”, St. Luke’s said.