COVID-19 Insights and Industry Trends Result in New Approach to Using Laboratory Values to Create Patient-Centric, Value-Driven Healthcare

Avalon Health Services, LLC, DBA Avalon Healthcare Solutions, the world’s first Lab Insights company, today announced the release of the industry’s first Lab Trend Report.

The COVID-19 public health emergency moved lab testing to the forefront of the minds of the public and government leaders. Laboratory testing impacts treatment, member quality of life, and healthcare costs significantly, and COVID-19 illustrated the outsized impact testing results have on individuals, not to mention society, public policy, and healthcare spend. Access to rapid and accurate results created urgency within the industry to develop testing capabilities. This environment revealed key learnings to be applied to future public emergencies. 

The report reviews the recent lab data experience and market dynamics to identify important emerging trends for healthcare executives. It includes:

• A review of lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and changes facing laboratories, providing a glimpse into shifting market trends;
• Insights from the Chair of Avalon’s Clinical Advisory Board on the challenges facing labs from a laboratorian perspective; and
• A comprehensive summary of the benefit health plans can realize by integrating laboratory values into their decision making, and member and provider management to realize the promise of patient-centric, value-driven care.

“In response to the increased public attention to lab medicine, Avalon is leveraging its unique insights to publish the first Lab Trend Report,” said Bill Kerr, MD, Avalon Healthcare Solutions Chief Executive Officer. “Each year, Avalon accrues additional specialized knowledge and a breadth of data on how lab medicine impacts other areas of medicine. As such, Avalon can witness trends more comprehensively than is possible at any single lab or health plan. I am proud of the work Avalon has performed over the years, but never more so than over the last 18 months. I’m thrilled to share the findings we have made in this report in an effort to change how care is delivered to individuals and populations.” 

Avalon can witness trends more comprehensively than is possible at any single lab or health plan.

Bill Kerr, MD, Avalon Healthcare Solutions Chief Executive Officer

Over 13 billion clinical laboratory tests are performed each year, making it the number one utilized medical benefit, and yet these diagnostics have the least management. Overall, lab tests drive 70% of medical treatment decisions, and have a disproportionate impact on spending throughout the care continuum. These factors make it critical for payers to focus on this benefit to ensure that the right testing is done, waste and abuse removal occurs, and clinicians use evidence-based treatment plans based on the laboratory results.

Click the button below to request the report. 

About Avalon Healthcare Solutions

Avalon Healthcare Solutions is the world’s first and only Lab Insights company, bringing together our proven Lab Benefit Management solutions, lab science expertise, digitized lab values, and proprietary analytics to help healthcare insurers proactively inform appropriate care, reduce costs, and improve clinical outcomes. Working with health plans across the country, the company covers more than 15 million lives, and delivers 7-12% outpatient lab benefit savings. Avalon is pioneering a new era of value-driven care with its Lab Insights System that captures, digitizes, and analyzes lab results in real time to provide actionable insights for earlier disease detection, ensuring appropriate treatment protocols, and driving down overall cost.

For more information about Avalon, please visit www.avalonhcs.com.

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